NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Deeply rooted and devoted, Mariton Villanueva’s graduation collection is a love letter to the Earth with all its complexities
Mariton Villanueva’s ode to the earth is a fresh take on going natural
We all know the classic tale from mythology—of the primordial Greek Goddess Gaia, the personification of the earth. She is the ancestral mother of all beings, bringing to life the most powerful gods and goddesses, titans and deities on Olympus. Bearing life and its creation is a burden to behold, but it is our responsibility as humans to nurture and protect it. Sadly, one of the biggest sources of waste in the earth come from the fashion industry with about 100 billion pieces of clothing for seven billion people according to a study in 2015. It may sound daunting but all is not lost. With decades of discarded clothes clogging up our oceans, the small steps matter the most and young designer Mariton Villanueva has her best foot forward, marching on to a world of hope with conviction.
She has recently shown her collection at Fashion Institute of the Philippines’ 2019 Graduation Show and was one of the crowd favorites. Each of the pieces were calming, but tediously crafted, bursting in muted colous that were beautifully brought to fruition through one of the country’s hidden treasures—all natural plant dyes and the use of upcycled clothing.
“My grad collection was the starting point of Himaya, where I learned that honoring all life, heritage and creation should and can very much still be integrated in the whole process of making clothes,” she shares. “I learned that creation is circular and doesn’t have to end in consumerism and consumption.” Creating clothes and saving the environment may sound ironic to some but it’s 2020 and the only thing we should care about is preserving the earth. “Himaya is Bisaya for praise or glory. I think that as designers, artists, writers, makers, etc., we are just co-creators with God. Every natural material comes from the Creator, every original design and idea comes from God and so all praise goes back to God.” It’s the same ethos as a designer that she has devoted herself to, with the conception of her first collection Rhythm of Creation, inspired by the story of creation in Genesis as a huge stepping stone.
When asked what mark she desires to leave in the world as a designer, Mariton expounds, “I think that clothing can be a great tool to spread a message of awareness to many if used responsibly. My vision as a designer is to keep expressing stories in the language of clothing, stories that need to be heard and shared. Stories of creation, stories of culture, of common people, stories of beauty and hope, of social injustice and truth.” The universe holds infinite possibilities, but this is a tale of creation that one needs to be retold.
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THINK THAT CLOTHING CAN BE A GREAT TOOL TO SPREAD A MESSAGE OF AWARENESS TO MANY IF USED RESPONSIBLY.”