What Your Favorite Local Brand Says About You, Explained

(SPOT.ph) Social media late last weekend had Manila’s style savvy sharing a barebones meme chart on their Instagram stories. There it stipulates where certain local fashion brands stand: whether they attract style newbies or veterans, or if they appeal to finance and business bros or eccentric gays.

Is it gospel? Not really, and its inherent unseriousness makes it all the more fun. For the sartorial, the Instagram post from @_ibaiba titled "What your favorite local Filipino brand says about you" is akin to zodiac placements and MBTI relatability. If we're to gauge from the comments, for some of the brands' founders, their inclusion in the meme seem to say, "hey, people know us!" And for other designers it's the perfect avenue to poke fun at their own brand and, perhaps winkingly, at their own customers and even fellow brand owners—all in the name of good ol' harmless fun. But, if you’re a budding style enthusiast with no idea what some of these brands are, and what the chart even means, we got you.

As with all chart and placement memes, it isn’t 100% accurate, and it doesn’t claim to be the encylopedia of current Filipino fashion either. In fact, we think it’s missing some brands we love (like, where’s Gouache and Carry Om?) We’re just smiling over the fact that there are plenty of local brands—enough to plot on a chart. Here’s to more brands, more charts, and more laughs.

Some might say explaining a joke or a meme makes it uncool, but we see this as an extension of our resolve to not gatekeep. So here it is, the chart explained and those logos identified.

The post is an x-y graph plotting out local brands on two axes, which are more like spectrums: "first time sa purveyr fair" versus "Jawnz Lord" and "JP Morgan Americano Bro" versus "Agency Matcha Gay".

Hey there, Purveyr Fair first-timer. Don’t feel bad for being a newbie—everybody has to start somewhere. Nothing beats entering the fair for the first time and feeling a local brand’s gravitational pull. It’s hard to replicate the child-like wonder of first times, and if we could bottle up that emotion into a perfume, we would have done so a long time ago. That said, welcome. The Purveyr Fair is an annual two-day event that gathers local brands, designers, and artists in one venue. It's an effort at making all this local talent more known and accessible to Filipinos, and you’ve already done your part by being interested.

As with most first-timers, knowledge level may be low on the first day, but curiosity levels are high. As such, Purveyr Fair First-Timers may prefer brands with a presence at fairs, or are available at a relatively lower price point compared to its Jawnz Lord counterparts.

Speaking of which, hello, Jawnz Lord. If you know, you know. If you don’t, well here’s the 411.

The term Jawn is a Philadelphia slang that serves as a placeholder, or a “neutral, all-purpose noun used to reference any person, place, situation, or object.” In a sentence; “Where is that jawn?” or even “Hand me those jawns.” But, replace the s with a z and you get Jawnz, which is entirely different. Jawnz refers to clothing, sneakers, or cool apparel of any kind.

And if you’re lord, it means you’re next level. Think sneakerheads with a collection of limited-edition releases. Streetwear enthusiasts dripping in threads from brands you’ve never heard of before. For basketball fans, Sneaker King P.J. Tucker comes to mind, along with Oklahoma City Thunder's Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been touted as a fashion king. TL;DR, Jawnz Lords know ball. They got game. They don’t play about fashion. But most of all, their closet has elite pulls.

The x-axis is basically just rookies to veterans of local brands based on familiarity. If you like brands on the left side, it's likely you're relatively new to local designers. Slide to the right and you’ll find brands that might not be as familiar to those who don’t dabble in fashion, but are often sought out by those who enjoy dressing up and flexing their 'fits. Is it all correct and true? No, but we're here for a laugh, not a master's dissertation. Feel free to disagree.

On to the y-axis, where the JP Morgan Americano Bro and Agency Matcha Gay hold the line.

The JP Morgan American Bro is no frills, no bull, and enjoys the regular deep hit of caffeine. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational financial services firm and the largest bank in the United States. Explained very simply, the top-most part of the axis is basically a "bro" who works in banking or finance.

His taste manifests in classic silhouettes, durable workwear, and high-quality builds that are as enduring and lowkey snooty as their investment portfolios (Kidding. Or are we?).

Labels found on this side of the chart specialize in reimagining classics for the modern wearer. Though silhouettes and iterations may receive a spin on color and execution, at its core is a dedication to craftsmanship, material quality, and a subtlety that somehow manages to scream effortless cool.

Johnny’s Wear Alls with their small-batch utility garments sit high up in the JP Morgan Americano Bro faction right in between Purveyr first-timers and Jawnz Lord. Just a bit below in the first-timer territory is Cagayan De Oro-based Nativesalad with their minimalist casual gear, and stripe-heavy, color-frenzied Cinemasun.

Inching towards the left are Prettiest and Sports Paradise, who bring comfort and cool to casualwear, implying that the JP Morgan bro loves a piece they can whenever, wherever. Rounding out the quadrant are The Reserved, Richboyz, WOMA, and Poblacion-grown Groundwork Apparel that cyclists love for their functional pieces. Toeing the line between Americano Bro and Matcha Gay are crowd-favorite Charlotte Folk, 321, and Worn Expressions.

In the comments, 321 founders Vi Ventura and Bryan Sendiong joked about their inclusion in the matrix, saying "PAFRAME NATIN HAHAHAHAHAAHAHHA".

Now we go to the right. This is where our Art Director War Espejo would sit. He introduced me to Leon Denim and I’m forever thankful for the tiny bit of Jawnz Lord cred I earned for checking out their website. High up in this quadrant is Renata, with Leon Denim inching closer to the end of the Jawnz Lord spectrum. At the farthest end? The Sixth Sense, which specializes in curating designer and vintage pieces with a lot of history. Each Instagram post is straight out of a fashion guide. And hey, they're "honored to be here HAHAHA"

Other brands include Tous for elevated classics, Extasis for adventure-ready outdoor gear, and Maligaya for crocheted pieces and textile twists on timeless silhouettes.

At the very middle of it all is Mondy Manila. It's classic, but colorful. It's effortless, but also warrants attention. It's quite controversial, sparking comments like "mondy being the neutral pick" and "mondy is centrist ?! (this is a joke)".

Now for the lower part of the chart—the Agency Matcha Gay. They’ve got the wit for copy, the insanity for productions, and immunity to matcha because lord knows they’ve chugged one too many cups in an attempt to get a campaign off the ground.

The Agency Matcha Gay is so ubiquitous, you probably know one or several. You’ve laughed at their skits online (we know we have). Hell, you’re probably one yourself. It’s just a matter of figuring out what you are on the spectrum: are you a nakshie discovering brands for the first time, or are you a mhiema with impeccable drip that nakshies fawn over?

The lower you go, the gayer it gets, it seems. On the left side for first-time fair attendes is Blanc Nue with its vibrant and modular accessories. A user commented "gateway brand to loving local fashion? damn right", and Blanc Nue founder Brent Lim had heart-eyes emojis to give in exchange for the love. Another user commented "basta naka blanc nue nasa alphabet family yan".

Next to it is PROJECT.ph with their bold and boxy denim pieces. Go up a bit and you'll spot Hysteria Supply with their overwhelmingly striking graphic tees and caps. Beside it sits Vestigial 47 with its trouser shorts and graphic apparel peppered with anime illustrations. Fed Pua, whose Atomic World is straight out of Y2K dreams, gives his stamp of approval: "OK accurate".

Completing this quadrant are Rio Taso which gives old textiles new, colorful life, and nicolò which is admittedly more minimalist but just as fluid with its shape and construction.

For the Jawnz Lord quadrant, you have De Tsino, Pace Division, gender-neutral and free-size SUOT, and May.We. Czarina Toledo of Meraki Crafted Garments says they're "honored to be part of this". The whimsical Miel Maker of Things is seatmates with Where Siriusdan, which paints bold strokes on garments, and Kael Street, whose bright pieces never fail to bring a smile to our faces. Does Kael Street even like matcha? "no HAHA but i appreciate the sentiment".

Farther towards Jawnz Lord status is Fortune WWD, Construction Layers, and Randolf, who you might recognize for its embroidered Filipinianas and barongs.

Now we go very gay. A commenter who very likely has a few Proudrace pieces in their closet, says Rik Rasos "made me a matcha gay then. Lol." Meanwhile, at the very end sits Carl Jan Cruz who has made Islander slippers extra covetable, and HA.MU, the undisputedly gayest brand of them all. It's so gay, "lagpas kayo [ng chart] beh hahahaha" a user commented to founder Abraham Guardian. Profanity.ph, who specializes in tufted rugs with swear words, said HA.MU is "LITERALLY UNIFORM NG MGA AHENSYA GAES".

Founders Guardian and Mamu Oki are gay icons themselves, so it only makes sense that the ahensya gays brandish threads that are as punchy as their copy and pitches.

There are 42 brands on the chart in total, and of those 42, we know 40. Sadly, we’re two brands away from true Jawnz Lord status, but maybe we can claim the Jawnz Baron or Baronness moniker for coming close. If you know which brands we missed, do sound off in our comments!