When you think about artists who are innovating Philippine pop music, one of the names that is sure to be mentioned is SB19. The Filipino boy band was first launched in 2018 and, as time goes by, got a huge following due to the Korean influence in their music and acts. But don't be fooled by the K-Pop factor, SB19 is Filipino through and through as band members Josh, Sejun, Stell, Ken, and Justin promote their music as part of OPM, featuring Tagalog lyrics in their songs.
For this year's Philippines-Korean Cultural Exchange Festival, the band aimed to showcase what the Philippines is all about by performing their hits "Alab" and "Go Up" at iconic landmarks such as the National Museum of the Philippines and Luneta Park. Not only did they present Manila City's best cultural scenes in the music videos, they also donned menswear imbued with Filipino textiles for the shoot.
Local fashion brand Balik Batik provided the wardrobe for their performance video. "SB19 wanted to promote local, especially our Philippine handwoven fabrics," the brand said. "So we created pieces for them featuring three different handwoven fabrics, namely pisyabit from the Tausug ethnic group of Sulu, yakan from Basilan, and inaul from the Maguindanaoans."
Ken wore a cropped blazer with matching pants made with pisyabit textile with gold threads. Looking at it closely, the buttons on the outfit are also covered with the same textile.
Blue and gold were the primary colors used for Stell's look. Much like a modern barong, the piece featured inaul textile woven in Cotabato.
Josh donned a fiery red ensemble with inaul textile, which has a traditional tinumpak design.
Sejun's look featured a multicolored inaul which was used as an accent on his robe, belt, and on the hem of his pants.
Justin’s outfit was a matching polo top and pants with yakan fabric. In total, three different yakan textiles were used to make his unique set.
The 2020 Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival was an event made possible by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, together with the United Korean Community Association in the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. For its 29th year, the festival went online for the first time.
Watch SB19'S #PhilKorFest2020 performance here: