Roko Arceo's Maligaya Clothing Co. is at the center of the country's slow fashion movement &mdash; redefining menswear with tropical ease, mindful making and a distinct vision of cool heritage dressing.

Slow &mdash; the operative word mindful industry sectors and consumers are embracing as a conscious countercurrent, seeking to curb the dizzying tailspin of fashion&rsquo;s fast-paced cycles. With much boldness and altruism, one local brand has been laying down the groundwork for change.
Founded by stylist Roko Arceo, Maligaya Clothing Co. is an independent fashion brand that has shifted attitudes toward eco-consciousness with a fresh approach on menswear and contemporary heritage dressing. With individuality, sustainability and heritage at its core, the brand is carving a thoughtful path forward &mdash; one that seeks to course-correct fashion&rsquo;s complicated relationship with sustainability.
This shift couldn&rsquo;t come at a better time, as the industry faces a long-overdue reckoning. One that calls for fashion images, trends &mdash; and the very cycles that drive them &mdash; to be absorbed at a gentler, more mindful pace. At its heart is a deep intent: to cultivate spaces that uphold ethical production and inspire a lasting instinct for conscious, informed consumption.

What counts as sustainable? It&rsquo;s a complicated matter, a clear definition is elusive and the lack of straightforwardness often leads to greenwashing &mdash; fashion brands making sustainability as a shtick with little to no facts to prove the claim. Can a brand be sustainable in and of itself or does it have to be part of a wider circularised ecosystem? One thing is certain, sustainability remains a pervasive talking point in fashion as recent global reports show about 92 million tons worth of clothing is wasted annually.
Though it comes with costs and limitations, according to Kantar Worldpanel, 75% of Filipinos are actively pursuing sustainable brands, widening the interest on eco-friendly alternatives. Whilst Filipino awareness on sustainable fashion is encouraging, Scale360 reports that a staggering 29% discard clothes after a single use. Much of this is attributed to fast fashion purchase patterns, accounting for millennials updating 50% of their clothing within a year as reported by Sustainability Solutions Exchange.
But there is change reflected in premium bazaars such as ArteFino, which uphold circularity whilst celebrating Filipino artisans and sustainable practices. This creates a platform for the country&rsquo;s mindful brands actively moving the needle towards a more circular fashion economy.

&ldquo;What I want to see with everyone in Maligaya &nbsp;[is]&nbsp;spreading positivity and being happy.&rdquo; &mdash;Roko Arceo

Named for happiness, Maligaya draws from a deep well of Filipino bliss and nostalgia akin to sepia-toned coming-of-age memories. Think radiant summer breaks spent at the beach or in lolo and lola&rsquo;s provincial abode. A delightful repurposing of the Filipino youth experience seen through a veil of vintage lace &mdash; visual cues conjuring familial ties, heirlooms and the warmth of the Filipino home.
In Maligayang Mundo, which translates to Happy World, as seen at Bench Fashion Week, Arceo&rsquo;s quintessential house codes loom large. Embracing sustainability, the collection utilizes cuttings and retazos from all of Maligaya&rsquo;s past collections. Arceo describes it as his &ldquo;POV of what I want to see with everyone in Maligaya spreading positivity and being happy.&rdquo; A mirage of elegant crocheted pieces with varying levels of transparencies and fresher pursuits.
Incorporating the sartorial &mdash; from relaxed linen suits in a bevy of vibrant colors to impeccably-tailored pinstripe sets. Appliqu&eacute;s of tropical motifs on saturated sunset colors are topped off with giant sun hats and beaded bouquet necklaces. Together, they evoke what could only be described as a Filipino tropical utopia. The bananas and coconut palms echo the joys of summer in an ode to iconographies by Ang Kiukok and Vicente Manansala, pivotal Filipino master painters.

The use of eco-conscious materials and upcycling are something instinctive in Filipino culture, not buzzwords, with the historical use of natural fibers. For example, pi&ntilde;a (pineapple fibers), light and airy, a customary element of the barong and Filipiniana, which kept our ancestors cool and elegant under the tropical sun. In a contemporary lens, Maligaya Clothing Co. upcycles not only these nostalgic mementos but also reclaims what was previously frowned upon in the Filipino canon of dress codes. Take, for instance, the concept of kukurtinahin &mdash; a term derived from &lsquo;kurtina,&rsquo; meaning curtain &mdash; often used to describe repurposed drapery fabric fashioned into makeshift garments, typically for debutantes or young men, that is sometimes met with ridicule. But times have shifted. Repurposing, while a universal practice, becomes here a bold act of reinvention &mdash; central to the innovation driving sustainable fashion. At Maligaya, this commitment is anything but subtle: kukurtinahin is reimagined, breathing modern relevance into a once-camp subcultural aesthetic and transforming it into a statement of contemporary cool.

This modernity has set the tone with Arceo&rsquo;s elegant blend of culture, preservation and coolness. The result: a charming brand that speaks to young Filipino dandies &mdash; bridging the gap between the traditional and contemporary and breaking the tension between innovation and circularity.
Maligaya has reshaped Filipino men&rsquo;s relationship with menswear, pushing forward a new reality &mdash; heritage dressing as a powerful aspect in developing one&rsquo;s personal style. It positions tradition as the foundation for individuality, proving that style choices don&rsquo;t need to chase trends to feel current. As sustainability reshapes the industry, these thoughtful sartorial decisions have sparked a new wave of perceptive, sharply-dressed Filipino men who sidestep the noise of microtrends &mdash; naturally curbing single-use consumption. In return, they invest in hand-made pieces steeped in memory and meaning &mdash; garments designed not just to last, but to matter.

Photography by Grant Babia, courtesy of Maligaya Clothing Co.

Maligaya Clothing Co. Reimagines Filipino Style Through Sustainability

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Maligaya Clothing Co. Reimagines Filipino Style Through Sustainability

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