by Roderick Abad

Published in Business Mirror

10 October 2017

MANILA FAME is all set once again for its second leg this year as it put from October 20 to 22 a bigger show for international and local buyers that will highlight the Philippines’s rich cultural heritage and design excellence.

Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem) Executive Director Clayton Tugonon said this 66th edition is focused on how the country’s culture has influenced generations upon generations of Filipino artisans.

“Manila FAME has always stood as a canvas to which the best of Philippine lifestyle and design talents embellish their work to showcase the country’s vibrant and multilayered cultural heritage,” he said.

Among the eight show features expected in this three-day event to be held at the World Trade Center Metro Manila and the Philippine Trade and Training Center in Pasay City is the new-generation weaves to be helmed by Paris-based design specialist Nelson Sepulveda.

He will work with over 30 small and medium enterprise-participants to invoke harmony and balance through Philippine craftsmanship and the beauty of natural raw materials.

Great Women Project 2 will also make a comeback to display the works of women artisans across the country. It was launched by the Philippine Commission on Women in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry Project Management Team and funding from the Canadian International Development Agency.

International designer Tony Gonzalez will also have his own curated setting that will show his versatile collection made to match a variety of material requirements, techniques and price points. Design Commune: Patterns and Palettes will be presented in four themes­—Blues and Whites, Ethnic Nomads, Green Tinted and Natural Black and White.

“Small and medium enterprises from across our country will join us in October to showcase the best artisanal products the Philippines has to offer,” Tugonon noted. “Through Manila FAME, we will work toward supporting the success of our artisans and uplifting the Philippine brand internationally.”

Organized by Citem, Manila FAME is the second longest-running trade show in the Asia Pacific, and the only trade event in the Philippines approved by Union des Foires Internationales—a French association of trade fair organizers founded 90 years ago in Italy.

This is a biannual business sourcing platform of export ready and finely crafted furniture and home furnishings, holiday gifts and décor and fashion accessories.