Mich Dulce

Widely acclaimed as one of the most original and important Filipino visionaries in fashion today, Mich Dulce has won many awards and recognition internationally for her designs as well as her craftsmanship in creating clothes and hats—her most recent being the top prize in the 2010 International Young Creative Fashion Entrepreneur at London Fashion Week. She trained at Central Saint Martins Colleg

e of Art and Design, London College of Fashion, and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and apprenticed with designers like Marjan Pejoski and Jessica Ogden. For her current collection, the designer continues to work with T’nalak, a handmade material using abaca fiber made by the women of the T’Boli Peoples of Lake Sebu in South Cotobato, Philippines. Choosing to use this precious fabric, the designer is interweaving stories from a different tradition, retelling them with her own aesthetic while retaining a respect for their origins. Not ending with the weave, each headpiece is handmade by women from the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, a Philippine-based poverty alleviation and nation building movement, who are personally trained and are supervised by Dulce.

“Traditional tinalak fabric weaving and designs have been a part of the T’Boli culture (and is) traditionally used for special occasions, with each design bearing a distinct meaning known only to these peoples,” explains Dulce. By using this in my work, I wanted to create a new subculture within that culture." Dulce says that it isn't enough to just make pretty things. "I'd like to continue showing the world a bit of my heritage but also show something that engages it creatively and not just come off as costume." The Mich Dulce label was first sold globally in 2009, with stockists in Manila, Tokyo, London, Paris and Singapore. Prominent personalities such as style icon Anna Dello Russo, editor at large of Vogue Nippon, American Actress Leighton Meester, and British music legend Adam Ant have worn her creations. Though she continues to create bespoke corsets and period bridal wear in the Philippines, her priority is her advocacy for promoting Filipino craftsmanship and creativity through her ready to wear millinery collection using traditional handmade Filipino materials that is sold worldwide.