BINI spotlights Filipino designers

BINI used its second Coachella weekend on April 18 to put Filipino designers in front of a global festival crowd, with Ica Villanueva leading the styling. (metro.style) Metro.Style said the eight-member group — Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena — wore metallic, studded looks for Weekend 2. Villanueva said the visual concept shifted from Weekend 1’s sea-inspired story to a land-based, warrior-like silhouette. (metro.style) GMA News reported that BINI opened its Weekend 2 Mojave Stage set with “Strings,” replacing “Shagidi” from the first weekend, then changed onstage into metallic purple and rose-gold outfits with silver boots. GMA said Marian Zara handled the custom performance outfits, while Francess Torres assisted Villanueva on styling and visual execution. (gmanetwork.com 1) (gmanetwork.com 2) The clothes were part of a larger Coachella push that tied BINI’s music to Filipino-made fashion. In Metro.Style’s April 11 interview, Villanueva said working with Filipino designers was “essential” because the group was representing the Philippines on one of pop music’s biggest stages. (metro.style) That approach carried over from Weekend 1, when Metro.Style said BINI performed in golden warrior looks, reworked salakot hats, and siren-inspired costumes made by Filipino creatives including Marian Zara, Raf Villas, and Job Dacon. Villanueva said those looks used deconstructed salakot and banig elements, weaving, and macramé to turn familiar materials into stagewear. (metro.style) Vogue Philippines said BINI is the first Filipino act to perform at Coachella and described Weekend 2 as a pivot from sea to land, with flora and fauna translated into a “Y2K cyberpunk” language. The magazine said the new looks used metallic pinks and purples, sculpted shapes, recycled zippers, and abstracted sampaguita motifs. (vogue.ph) Forbes said BINI made its Coachella debut on April 10 with a 45-minute, 10-song set, adding scale to the fashion exposure around both weekends. GMA said the group’s second-week set ended with the Philippine flag on screen and Jhoanna’s line, “Mabuhay ang musikang Pilipino.” (forbes.com) (gmanetwork.com) The result was not just a wardrobe change between weekends, but a repeat showcase for Philippine fashion names in front of Coachella’s international audience. Metro.Style said Villanueva, Zara, Dacon, and Villas used that stage to build a visual story rooted in Filipino pride and aimed at a global pop audience. (metro.style)