ArteFino Celebrates Conscious Lifestyle with Young Designers And New Brands
ArteFino Festival is back this year with new home-grown brands and designers to showcase. This year’s roster of fresh talents will present their interpretations of the call to “renew, recycle, and reuse.” Unlike the previous years, the event will feature over 150 brands and will run for five weeks starting on August 25, 2022 at the ground floor of the Powerplant Mall.
ArteFino aims to inspire an elevated yet responsible lifestyle. It is a community that honors craft, culture, and conscious living. Founders, Susie Quiros, Marimel Francisco, Mita Rufino, Maritess Pineda, and Cedie Lopez-Vargas, have always believed in creating an inclusive platform for local brands to tell their inspiring stories since its first artisanal trade fair in 2017.
The Festival will introduce new local labels across the categories of fashion, accessories, fine jewelry, home, and children’s wear each week. While most products cater to women, men can also enjoy the event through a special section called Barracks, which is a curated space for them to lounge, shop, and sip on local artisanal brews.
Marimel shares, “We wanted to cater to an underserved mens market.” Cedie adds, “Barracks has been around since 2018 and was created to invite men to be part of this movement. This year, the theme for Barracks will be easy living.”
In a conversation during the Press Preview event, Cedie shared with BluPrint how supporting artisanal products makes the purchase more meaningful. Events like ArteFino create a strong local awareness and consciousness through the products displayed. This encourages Filipinos to support local artisans, local economy, and boost small and micro industries in the country.
Cedie and Marimel reminisce, “Since we launched in 2017, ArteFino has taken on a life of its own.” Throughout the years, they’ve launched countless local labels and designers. “We’ve worked with many emerging brands and designers, all of whom have grown with us. We’ve followed their journeys and evolved with them,” shares Cedie. Even then, Marimel maintains that, “We are constantly on the lookout for new talents to showcase.”
The Festival will introduce 44 new designers and brands, each one hand picked by the ladies behind ArteFino. Brand narratives, purpose, and links to community are the considerations that factor into the selection of vendors. Cedie elaborates, “We want our vendors to succeed and we want them to be prepared for a global market. This is why apart from the product, we also look into their purpose, vision.”
Marimel continues, “Almost 40% of our vendors this year are new. It speaks of the emergence of social enterprises and a deeper understanding of what sustainable living is all about. This year’s lineup will show the many layers of responsible retailing that includes going hyperlocal and employing fair trade practices.”
Some of the brands and designers to expect at the event include Katha Pilipinas, Pinagtagpi, Christian Cera, Camille Villanueva, and Kelvin Morales, among others.
Photos courtesy of Ed Simon
