Atsui: proudly Philippine-made

WITH THE healthy and active lifestyle scene in the country ever growing, a local performance and athleisure brand is daring to throw its name in the mix with stylish and quality activewear that is proudly Philippinemade.

Atsui, officially started in 2014, is stepping up its brand play of not only providing comfortable apparel for all kinds of movement activities, but also underscoring that locally made can also be world-class.

Late last month, Atsui brought some of its VIP partners and members of the media to its interactive pop-up showroom at the Raffles Residences Lounge in Makati City where it showcased a wide- range of highperformance and athleisure pieces for various activities like Pilates, yoga, running, and Crossfit, including its 2017 Pre-Holiday collection. It also shared its vision as a brand moving forward.

“There is a common misconception here that when you say ‘ local brand’ it is not of good quality. We want to debunk that and show that we are world-class,” said Homer Silvestre, cofounder and designer for Atsui, in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“We in Atsui know we can make globally competitive products. We believe the Filipino sewers are skilled and world- class. The materials are available here. Atsui is Philippinemade save for the technical fabrics which we source abroad. The challenge now is whether Filipinos can accept a Filipino brand,” said Mr. Silvestre, who cofounded Atsui with his wife Leslie, who is a Pilates instructor apart from being an entrepreneur.

The Atsui official said that the response to their products since setting up shop, despite being available largely online, has been positive, a result, Mr. Silvestre underscored, of making a conscious effort to stay true to three key considerations, namely, quality, fair pricing, and variety.

“Number one is the quality. We are really centering on it. As manufacturers even before Atsui came up, we really took pride in that. We rather not ship products if it they are not of high standard and bad quality because it would U-turn on you in the end,” said Mr. Silvestre of Atsui products, which are made in a factory in Baras, Rizal, by mostly locals in the area.

“After quality, it is pricing. When we were planning [to set] up Atsui we saw that there are quality activewear in the market but are very limited and often too expensive. So we were mindful of pricing our products fairly,” said Mr. Silvestre.

“If we price our items near that of popular brands the tendency is for people to buy those products instead of gravitating towards us,” he added.

“Then there is variety. We always try to come out with new collections that people can choose from and to stay fresh not only in designs but also in the technology employed,” said Mr. Silvestre, adding that recently they introduced airemov — a specially woven four-way stretch and moisturewicking fabric with increased elastane that allows each piece to move as the wearer does.

2017 PRE-HOLIDAY COLLECTION

For Atsui’s 2017 Pre-Holiday Collection, the inspiration comes from the different and changing circumstances around the great rivers in Asia.

Under the “Rivers” collection are the “Huangpu,” “Sumida,” and “Cheonggyecheon” lines.

Huangpu is inspired by the river that bisects Shanghai that highlights the two faces of the city, Puxi with its historical architectures and Pudong which is lined with modern skyscrapers.

Sumida, meanwhile, is inspired by the river in Tokyo and juxtaposes the Japanese reverence of nature with Sakura tree-lined banks against the electric energy of the big city.

And Cheonggyecheon takes cue from the progress of the Korean mega city of Seoul, where the Cheonggyecheon River is found, and features patterns that hint of technology, reworked urban camouflage, and topological maps.

In the three years since Atsui started, Mr. Silvestre said they are happy with how far it has come and the prospects for it moving on.

“There are revolutionary brands and there others who have evolved and I believe that Atsui is a brand that evolves. We want to continue improving and developing and we want to make people aware that there is a Filipino activewear brand that they can be can be proud of for its good quality,” Mr. Silvestre said.

To check out Atsui’s products, visit Atsui.ph while select pieces are also available in activity centers such as Yoga+ Express, Bikram Yoga Makati and Cebu, Bliss Yoga, and Yoga Hub Cebu. It is also present in Facebook and Instagram. —