Kim Jones on How Filipinas Are Claiming Space in Global Fashion

"What we're seeing now is the result of years of effort from countless Filipino designers, stylists, photographers, interns, writers, seamstresses, creatives—people who pushed forward when nobody was watching. The Philippines may not have been seen as a dominant fashion market, but the influence now is undeniable. It didn't happen overnight—there wasn't a singular moment of discovery. And we'll continue to see new ground broken as it evolves again and again with new voices. 

"It's not just about visibility—it's about impact. Filipino creatives aren't simply being 'included'; they're asserting themselves—that's a powerful distinction."

"Fashion week existed long before I arrived, and Filipinos have always been a part of the industry—it's just the lens that's shifting. I entered at a time when digital media was disrupting a heavily gate-kept traditional media landscape, allowing new voices to break through in unexpected places (albeit clumsily on Blogspot). But now, it's not about just being heard or asking for a seat at the table. It's about ownership and authorship. Filipinos are now setting the standards fueled by a deep cultural connection that goes beyond aesthetics."

"Of course, there were challenges—Filipino creatives' contributions haven't always been recognized in the industry. Someone—well-meaning, I’m sure—once advised me to say I was from Asia rather than specifically the Philippines. I knew the judgments existed, as they always have, and it reflected something much larger—the way the Philippines has often been treated as something to soften or generalise. I ignored them."

"What has stayed with me—more than the imprint of any challenge—is the communion of meeting another Filipino in a different country. We always find each other in the crowds."

"Collaboration is beautiful, and community is deeply ingrained in our culture, but that doesn't mean we all have to move in unison. The women in this space deserve to be celebrated for their individual impact, not just as part of a larger movement. People will always dissect success, trying to define it, reverse engineer it. But what we really need is contrast—multiple perspectives, individual voices, even if they don't always align. That friction, that nuance—creativity thrives on it.

"There’s often a fear that someone else’s success somehow diminishes our own, but that’s a fallacy. They worked for it, they earned it, and they should be recognized for their contributions—not compressed for the sake of optics. Based on how much Filipinas are owning the conversation right now, they're clearly doing something right.

"The industry needs more women owning their space, unapologetically. Success has rarely required men to agree with each other."

"There is no one resolution, no fixed roadmap, I didn't know what I was doing when I started, I got kicked out of a show once or twice—I still don't know why. Take it a day at a time, the world shapeshifts so rapidly now that we must be equally as amorphous. Carve your own path, one that doesn't even look like one, one that terrifies you. Go so far out of your comfort zone [that] the recoil is guttural. I have become quite a savant at showing up to places alone, and it never got easier; I just got crazier—but you meet some great people and make some great life stories. There are no rules, but there are structures, and learning them is power."