Inside Day 2 of Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2026

Lucy Torres Gomez has long been a close collaborator of Kashieca. Over the years, the actress and politician has conveyed her point of view of the modern woman through the fashion brand's offerings.

For the holidays in 2026, she expresses this through silky dresses that flow in stride, structured maxi skirts that accentuate figures, and casual separates that can be styled together or on their own. It's all familiar territory for anyone who's come to know the Kashieca girl and how she dresses.

Symbolic of their mutual understanding that genuine style can cross generations, mother-daughter duo Wilma and Asiana Doesnt opened the show, showcasing their distinctive struts in coordinating rompers. Accessories were kept to a minimum, and glam was kept on the pared-down side, a testament to how the Kashieca muse is intentional with what she adorns her body with.

Shrieks from an interpolated Britney Spears classic echoed through the SPACE at One Ayala for the night's second show. On the platform emerged drag performer O-A, frantically making her way to the catwalk, long black tresses trailing her. She liberally sprays herself with "I Love U," the first foray into fragrance by Preview Best Filipino Fashion Designer Proudrace, made possible through their fourth collaboration with Human.

It's dramatic, it's theatrical, it's Proudrace. Through and through.

The collection speaks to many Proudrace sensibilities, with nostalgia, adolescent angst, and Pinoy kitsch being major themes. T-shirts, priced sensibly under P700, are printed with tongue-in-cheek graphics and texts that are sure to earn a double take from any passerby. On the runway, they were anchored unto the shoulders of models, as if to make a statement that they can be worn in however many ways. Akin to designer Rik Rasos' ethos, many of his trademark patterns and motifs were translated into scarves, belts, and even limited-edition jackets and shoes.

The designer caveats that the collection continues his yearning to make fashion both personal and more accessible. You can love your emo boys and proudly wear them, too.

Another Preview Best Filipino Fashion Designer to link up with Bench was Chris Nick. Always one to invite a little (or rather, a lot) of sexiness into his work, he reimagined Bench staples through a more risque, raunchy lens. Stars were stitched onto back pockets, minis were cut on the dangerously short side, and cheeky declarations were emblazoned on white tanks.

While repetition can drive a point home, repeating the same outfit formula led to redundancy in some looks. However, with a battalion of baddies—which included Michelle Dee, Hannah Locsin, and Francine Diaz—modeling the collection, the designer has defined for certain what attributes a "Chris Nick Angel" possesses. And these angels seem to flock together in their own place in the sky anyway.

A staple of the sartorial festival is the celebrity-packed finale, and this year, ambassadors modeled pieces from their ready-to-wear collections and activewear lines. Among the stars who descended on the runway were Joshua Garcia, River Joseph, Alden Richards, Kaila Estrada, Seth Fedelin, Dustin Yu, G22, and more.