There’s something electric about a fashion design competition—especially when it puts the spotlight on fresh, young creatives redefining Philippine fashion.

This year’s Bench Design Awards (BDA), held last April 27 at Bench Tower in Taguig, was no exception. With 12 standout collections from emerging talents, the 2025 edition celebrated imagination, storytelling, and the evolving identity of Philippine fashion. And if there’s one thing the night made clear: The future of fashion is in visionary hands.

Leave it to Bench—the homegrown retail giant known for its ongoing commitment to Philippine fashion through platforms like Bench Fashion Week and Ternocon—to continue nurturing the next generation.

With the support of Suyen Corporation, BDA continues to create space for bold, original designs to shine. This year, three designers stood out for their powerful narratives, skilled execution, and unmistakable creative voices: Steph Verano, Peach Garde, and Karl Nadales.

Their reward? A ticket to showcase at Tokyo Fashion Week this September, in partnership with the Japan Fashion Week Organization.

Manila Bulletin Lifestyle caught up with the winners to talk about their winning collections, their inspirations, and the future they’re helping shape for Philippine fashion.

With a collection titled “Cast,” Steph Verano transported us to a world shaped by sea, salt, and memory.

Inspired by archival photographs of European fisherfolk, Steph’s work evoked the muted melancholy of weathered docks and the quiet coastal life. Think quilted layers, rounded silhouettes, knitted fishing-line details, and subtle references to buoys and ropes.

“Bench suddenly announcing the BDA competition was a blessing,” she shared. “I have been struggling, juggling designing, making, and managing the business, and didn’t know what else I could do to help the brand. This, for me, was a chance to see if everything that I’ve been doing up to this point was really worth doing.”

A trained artist at heart, Steph’s journey into fashion came after exploring painting and dance, eventually pursuing formal education at SoFA, Slim’s, and ESMOD Paris.

While her collection doesn’t overtly reference Filipino culture, Steph believes that creating from a place of sincerity, as a Filipina, inevitably brings a certain cultural truth to light. “I think that things I make as a Filipina automatically become somewhat like materialized forms of present Filipino culture,” she said. “With our showcase, I hope that the international audience will see how diverse and exciting the Philippine fashion scene is right now, and how sincere Filipino craft can be.”

There’s a quiet charm in chaos—especially when it’s intentional. Peach Garde’s “Sea-scape” collection felt like a memory captured mid-motion: Young friends running home from a spontaneous beach trip, clothes hastily thrown on, laughter in the air.

Deconstructed, inside-out tailoring, wave-like curves, and jellyfish-inspired embellishments gave the collection a sense of movement and fun. “‘Sea-scape’ is the story of the young ones today, escaping from reality and going to have fun by the beach,” he shared. “The mood is that they were hurrying home after a very quick escape, so I have details of deconstruction: wrong side out details, or as if not properly worn pieces.”

A graduate of Iloilo Science and Technology University with further training at Slim’s, Peach’s journey into fashion was anything but linear. From working retail to juggling school, he found his way to design through grit and unexpected encouragement. “I can say that I was redirected to the right path,” he said.

“Sea-scape” might be playful, but Peach is serious about showing the world the precision of Filipino craftsmanship. “[I want to show] mainly the Filipino craftsmanship in clothes-making, especially in streetwear and RTW like ours,” he noted. “The amount of time spent on each piece to create a nice, tailored finish is something that we are proud of.”

Karl Nadales brought something quiet yet powerful to the runway with “A-17,” a collection rooted in the emotional complexities of migration. In his clothes, memory and movement intersect—offering a visual essay on identity, displacement, and belonging.

“Migration can arise from various factors—whether political upheaval, the pursuit of greater opportunities, or personal aspirations,” Karl explained. “Each journey brings unique challenges and insights, prompting individuals and communities to reconsider their identities and relationships.”

Currently apprenticing with a respected fashion mentor and a graduate of FAB Creatives’ program, Karl crafts garments with care and introspection. “A-17” featured layered silhouettes and design elements that conveyed transition and adaptation—mirroring the internal shifts that come with life in flux.

For his Tokyo showcase, Karl wants to spotlight the merging of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary narrative. “As a Filipino, I want to share the creativity and storytelling merging traditional craftsmanship with a more forward vision,” he concluded.

As the curtains closed on another Bench Design Awards, the message was clear: This isn’t just a competition—it’s a launching pad. For Steph, Peach, and Karl, the journey continues across borders. But it starts here, at home, where talent and vision are always in season.