Get ready for Air Asia’s Runway Ready Designer Search 2017

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Malaysian Andrew Tan, founder of Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week Ready to Wear and a powerhouse fashion icon, has wonderful things to say about Philippine designers.

“If you were to pop into Zara, for example, and buy an outfit off the rack, why can’t we access something from the Philippines, as Philippine designers are so talented,” he exclaims. “I can’t wait for this year; I hope we have a winner from the Philippines.”

He hopes for a Filipino to emerge victorious in the third run of AirAsia’s Runway Ready Designer Search 2017. Last year, three Filipino designers represented the Philippines along with designers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Mary Camille Veloso, Bea Samson, and Ron Xavier Santos, winners of the Philippine auditions, did their best, but the ultimate winner, Anuruq Jaidee from Thailand, was the one who secured a slot in KL Fashion Week Ready to Wear 2017 this coming August.

This year, AirAsia expands the third edition to include all 10 ASEAN countries. The 10 countries will field two representatives to vie for the top spot, with the winner getting prizes at least RM350,000 in value, which include a confirmed slot in KL Fashion Week Ready To Wear 2018, RM25,000 from Fashion Valet to produce a capsule collection to be sold on FashionValet.com, 150,000 AirAsia BIG Points, and AirAsia flights.

At the recent press launch held in RedQ, AirAsia’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Anuruq Jaidee showcased his three pieces to serve as inspiration.

Six media representatives from the Philippines, along with regional media and local media from the participating countries, were reminded of the scope of this search, “It’s going to be your duty to go out there and put pressure on them,” says Andrew Tan.

He remembers the three Filipino designers from 2016 and shared, “Individually, they are different, but I think, out of the three I find Ron and Mary very interesting, the designs are different. Ron had a very good potential, with hope this year he will still come back.”

He wants to assure the Filipino designers who joined last year that they can join again. “Of course, the journey continues. They are more than welcome to join again, because you never know what they are going to design and show us may be entirely different. If you can put a word out there, I think it is important to let them know that they can come back.”

The search committee will go to all the capitals of the ASEAN countries from April to June, looking for top two designers who will represent each country at the Grand Finale in Kuala Lumpur by August.

Andrew Tan will be joined by Vivy Yusof, co-founder of Fashion Valet, as a permanent judge across all auditions. For the Philippine auditions, Anthony Ramirez, who was part of the search last year, will once again join the panel of judges.

Andrew Tan shares that when they come to the Philippines, “We are targeting a lot, it’s another process, but I am excited. Because I got some feedback that the Philippines is pushing readyto-wear more than they did before.” “It has always been that the Philippine designers are made to measure because when I spoke to some of the designers, I said, ‘don’t forget ready-to-wear,’” he recalls. “When I go somewhere, like in the Philippines, the first thing I look for is where can I go to see Philippine designers, but I cannot find something that is