Wearable Heirlooms: 4 Filipinx Designers Remaking What We Inherit, Made with MAHAL

On Friday, November 13, four Bay Area Filipinx designers take the runway at the Made With Mahal Mural Block Party, now moved indoors to Sentro Filipino because of the rain. It's the final Hub of UNDSCVRD SF's 10th anniversary season, and a celebration of Balay Kreative's Mahal murals in SOMA Pilipinas, the Filipino Cultural Heritage District. Two of the three murals are complete, and the full series arrives in 2027.

One of the finished murals is Pamana (Heirloom) by Venazir Martinez. That word sums up the runway too. Every designer in this lineup takes something handed down, like a grandmother's fabric stash, a mother's closet, a sewing lineage, or a cultural silhouette, and remakes it for right now.

Mahal means love. It also means precious. These are wearable heirlooms, and here's who's making them.

Meet the Fashion Show Curator: Jawa Lee

The fashion show is curated by Jawa Lee, an artist curator, community connector, and multi-medium artist who works across analog photography, fashion design, and dance. He draws inspiration from his immigrant ancestors' experiences in San Francisco and from the creative circle around him.

When Jawa started building the lineup, the question was bigger than who could fill a runway. It was about past, present, and future, and about what mahal looks like when you dress it.

He went looking for designers who are still growing. These are emerging makers who live and breathe design, people whose work is personal before it's polished. The result is a lineup that spans a dance company performer, a graphic designer turned jacket maker, a first-collection debut, and a stylist and scientist duo.

For Jawa, the event itself carries meaning, too:

"I grew up in the Bay Area but never knew about the cultural district until I heard about UNDSCVRD. So for an event like this to bring awareness to our Filipino history in San Francisco is really amazing and makes me want to lean into this side of my culture more." — Jawa Lee, curator and creative director

Follow @jawa.tree

Meet the Designers

1. Johny Cariño Marquez: the one-of-one work jacket

Johny Cariño Marquez sees a whole collection in what everyone else gives away. The Oakland-based designer, artist, and maker turns thrifted, donated, and scrap materials into jackets, bags, and other goods, and his upcycled workwear jackets are all one-of-ones.

His story is an heirloom story. Johny's grandmother was a seamstress who once worked at a thrift store, and the fabric she collected there was passed down to him. During the 2020 lockdown, he bought an inexpensive sewing machine and asked his dad to teach him the basics. He started with quilts, moved on to tote bags, and landed on jackets (Kollective Hustle).

Raised in Antioch, Johny studied graphic design at Arizona State University, and that eye for color and arrangement shows in every piece. Today his jackets are some of the most sought-after pieces in Bay Area style. 7x7 called them a must for anyone building a wardrobe of rare pieces.

Follow @johnycarinomarquez

2. Calixta Lehman: the Nanang Collection

Calixta Lehman is an emerging Filipina American designer who debuted her first collection this May at The Eden Gallery. She didn't just show the work. She directed and produced the entire show herself, putting design and community organizing side by side.

Her Nanang Collection is a tribute to the Filipina mothers and caretakers who came before us, the women who gave us life and made countless sacrifices so we could have our own opportunities. Each look draws on traditional Filipino silhouettes and motifs, with contemporary details that connect generations of fashion and cultural identity.

The materials carry the story. The collection is made mostly from secondhand materials, Philippine-sourced textiles, and clothing passed down from Calixta's own mother. In the preview shoot, her look is modeled by Jenelle Gaerlan of Kapwa Pula.

Follow @cali.xta

3. Nicole Sanchez of Niana Collection:
We experience, we adapt, we remix

Nicole Sanchez comes from a three-generation sewing lineage, and her label Niana Collection is built for third-culture, hyphenated identities. She pairs contemporary silhouettes with details from Filipinx cultural wear, guided by her ethos: "we experience, we adapt, we remix."

Nicole is part of the Balay Kreative family. As a 2023 Kreative Growth Program resident, she presented FilipiNIANA Collection: Vol I at 447 Minna, a fashion show and community activation celebrating Filipino artistry. Her work sits where technology, streetwear, Philippine culture, and sustainable fashion meet.

She's also a tenured performer with Parangal Dance Company, so movement and heritage are second nature to her. Her designs are about dressing with intention, and they give the Filipinx diaspora a visual language of its own.

Follow @nianacollection

4. JH and Iz of Emordes Studio:
Fantasy, realized

Emordes Studio was founded by a designer stylist and a biochemist weaver. JH brings the styling and design eye, and Iz brings the loom and a scientist's precision. Together they run an interdisciplinary creative house rooted in what they call fantasy realization.

Emordes is more than a label. It's a platform where other artists present work and collaborate through curated, conceptual, elevated experiences. In this lineup, they're the clearest look at the future: weaving treated as both science and craft.

Their work honors where they come from and fiercely celebrates where they're going as they uncover themselves.

Follow @emordes.studio and @iz_woven

The Runway team

The fashion show opens the night and puts fashion, dance, music, and adornment on one stage. Behind the four designers is a full creative crew.

Kapwa Pula, Filipino American dance collective. Francis Aquino, Jenelle Gaerlan, Francis Cailles, and Joshua Reyes open and close the show. The collective honors AAPI immigrant experiences through fashion, dance, spoken word, and music. Its movement blends Black social dance, street dance, and Filipino tribal and contemporary dance. Follow @kapwa.pula, @jnls.world, @francis_senses, and @bloom_blap.

Ms. Carla, runway choreographer. Carla Service provides entertainment consulting for cruise ships, resorts, and dance entrepreneurs, locally and abroad. Many of her clients have gone on to open their own studios and perform with top industry stars.

ET IV of ASTIG, sound producer. ET IV (Eduardo Daza Taylor) is a Filipino music producer and DJ who brings Pilipino OPM+ music to audiences from the Manila Bay Area and beyond. He's Balay Kreative fam: in late 2018 he co-founded ASTIG with Kevin Pelgone, a monthly party paying tribute to different eras and genres of OPM (Original Pilipinx Music). He was inspired by the music he loved while living in the Philippines and wanted to build bridges across the diaspora.

ASTIG has deep UNDSCVRD roots. The crew opened for legendary '70s band Dakila at UNDSCVRD Sunday Streets, and ASTIG mixes are part of the UNDSCVRD Mixtape Series. So it's only right that ET IV soundtracks the 10th anniversary runway. Follow @et_iv.

P / Maccay, jewelry. Pauline Maccay is a Filipina American artist and designer whose jewelry explores the tension between softness and strength. She works with stainless steel, natural stone, and freshwater pearls sourced from the Philippines. Follow @pmaccay.

Michelle of 03DollStudio, nail sculpture. Michelle is a 3D sculptural, multimedia nail artist who turns unexpected materials and textures into miniature wearable art. Proof that the smallest touches make the biggest impact. Follow @nailsxmich.

Miró, makeup. Miró has been creative their whole life and finds beauty in every form. They love making people look wild, and their art is inspired by people. Follow @miro.dali.

Joseph Johnson, fashion show media director. Joseph is a Bay Area born and raised photographer, fashion designer, and creative director who shot the preview campaign. Someday he plans to own a tow truck to take revenge on $190 parking tickets. Parking enforcement, beware. Follow @jerkchickenricenpeas.

After the runway: love-song karaoke with THE JUICE

When the show wraps, the mic is yours. Love-song karaoke closes out the night, with THE JUICE hosting.

The San Francisco native is a 17-year DJ veteran who honed his craft on turntables at venues throughout the Bay Area. Music and singing have been his passion for years, so it was only a matter of time before he scratched his karaoke itch. Now entering his second year hosting karaoke, THE JUICE co-hosts "Pass the Mic Karaoke" on Wednesday nights at Nick & Nora in Daly City and "Karaoke Under the Stars" on Thursday nights at Storybook Bar + Kitchen in Hayward.

Pick your love song and bring your loudest friends. Follow @mightyjuicy

The runway is part of the Made With Mahal Mural Block Party, celebrating the first two Mahal murals in SoMa Pilipinas, Pamana (Heirloom) by Venazir Martinez and Isang Mahal by Andre Sibayan & 1AM Project. Both are up on Jessie West Alley, one block from Sentro Filipino, so walk over before or after the show. The full series will be unveiled when the third mural is complete in 2027. Stay after the show for love-song karaoke with THE JUICE. The first 100 guests get a Peach Mango Pie, so come early.

Learn more | RSVP here

Friday, November 13, 2026, 6–10 PM

Sentro Filipino, 814 Mission St, Mezzanine Level, San Francisco (moved indoors from Jessie West Alley due to rain)

Free, all ages : RSVP

luma.com/uvfqed21

Sources

Jy Jimmie Gabiola