Day 1 of MNL Fashion Week 2026 was about ambition, nature, and a new generation
From Nicolò’s pursuit of flow to Yong Studio’s fading landscape and JAG’s big 50th-anniversary reveal, the opening night had plenty to say.
MNL Fashion Week 2026 opened on September 3, 2026 with three very different takes on what Filipino fashion can look like right now. Nicolò and Yong Studio kicked off the evening with deeply personal collections, before JAG closed the night with a 50th-anniversary celebration and a NextGen showcase for three emerging labels.
Nicolò finds the joy in the work
Opening the festival at 5 p.m., Nicolò presented “Flow State,” a three-part collection inspired by Sisyphus, Narcissus and Icarus. It also marked the brand’s first move into womenswear, still interpreted through designer Nicolò’s menswear-informed approach.
Utilitarian tailoring and workwear opened the show before giving way to sheer, fluid layers and eventually more sculptural silhouettes. Relaxed proportions, technical fabrics, denim, sequins and translucent textures kept things playful without losing the clean language of the brand.
But the real point of “Flow State” was less about mythology and more about ambition. The collection considers what happens when the drive to achieve more starts overshadowing the pleasure of actually making things. A fitting thought for the first show of a fashion week, where everyone is, naturally, trying to make the next big thing.
Yong Studio watches the colour disappear
At 7 p.m., Yong Studio shifted the mood completely. Its largest collection yet began with the abundance of nature, filled with vibrant colours, animal and nature-inspired prints, before slowly fading into beiges, taupes and dry earth tones inspired by El Niño.
The collection brought together womenswear, the return of menswear and one-off runway pieces, with romantic silhouettes contrasted by weathered textures and more rugged details. Deadstock and upcycled fabrics were also woven into the collection, reflecting the label’s approach to sustainability and its practice of starting with the fabric rather than a sketch.
The message was intentionally understated. Rather than lecture, Yong Studio simply showed us a world becoming less colourful, and asked us to notice what we already have.
Then JAG turned 50
The 9 p.m. finale brought a completely different kind of energy. JAG celebrated five decades of Philippine denim with “Denim Gold,” revisiting five of its signature silhouettes: Skinny, Straight Cut, Barrel, Ultra Flare and Ultra Wide.
Then came the reveal. Nadine Lustre walked the runway as JAG’s newest face, appearing in “Mermaid,” a new interpretation of the brand’s iconic ’90s “Merman” campaign. Not exactly a quiet anniversary toast, but honestly, why would it be? JAG’s 50th deserved a little drama.
The show then handed the runway to NextGen, where Kill Joy Studios, Lilah Roche, and Yana Kalaw Studios brought three very personal perspectives to the night.
Kill Joy Studios’ “Kalye Trez Mixtape.” pulled from Manila memories, music, nightlife and queer Filipino identity. Lilah Roche’s “Sampaguita Queenpin” transformed the Filipino action-film hero into a female character, bringing noir references and sharp tailoring into the conversation. Yana Kalaw Studios, meanwhile, presented a prologue to “Queer Notes,” exploring femininity, identity and the freedom to stop performing who you are supposed to be.
Three shows, three very different stories, but one thing connected them: Day 1 was less interested in chasing a single definition of Filipino fashion than in showing how many there can be.
Photos: no_name_ph
