Weaving of Past and Future

As with the 69th edition, the Design Commune merchandise development display is one the most anticipated exhibits at Manila FAME.

Lamps by Stanley Ruiz and an armchair by Obra Cebuana are set up on one end of the Design Commune.

 

At the 70th edition, the Design Commune exhibit was an ethereal and interactive experience, where visitors walked through a “forest” of fabric to explore the setting and discover new pieces collaborated on by design consultants Stanley Ruiz, Nix Alañon, André Chang, Kitty Bunag, and Mia de Lara, which were hidden in the space.

Clockwise from upper left: Hidden in Vince Uy’s forest of fabric are Jewelry by André Chang for Alchemista;
Cabinet by Nix Alañon for Artesania; Jacket by Jor-El Espina, Chair by Alañon for Obra Cebuana, and Bag by Larone Crafts;
and Barong Lamp by Chang for Hacienda Crafts.

Creative Director and curator Vince Uy explained his concept for this Design Commune: “I wanted to play on the idea of weaves—of weaving the past and the future together for the Heritage Reimagined theme, but I didn’t want it to be a literal weaving. So, if you look at the central part of the setup, it looks like loose, unwoven threads. But when you look at the opposite ends, it’s like the finished product, which is draped fabric.”

Designing duo Kitty Bunag x Mia de Lara created these woven hampers for Wow Carmen, and stool for My Souvenir Banig de Basey.

 

Furniture, lighting, tabletop décor, clothing, and fashion accessories from 57 different companies were exhibited in a museum-like setting. “I also wanted an experience where it’s dark inside this central installation; we wanted to give the sense of exploration—inside, it’s exploratory, and outside, it’s more of an exhibition feel, like in a museum.”

Industrial designer Stanley Ruiz collaborated with Cebu Homecraft for the chair made
out of denim scraps and with Natural Crafts and Arts for the hanging Tapestry.

Uy adds that the pale pink fabric was chosen not as a color trend, but as a tool in making the entire exhibit more cohesive. “The color is like macaron pink and it creates this global feeling,” he says. “But I wanted to show how versatile this color is. If you look at it, it works with a bold turquoise chair, black and brown finishes, gray. So that’s how flexible our design set is.”