At this point, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have entered the realms of high art and high fashion. In the recent return of Paris, Milan, London and New York fashion weeks, NFTs were front and center. While others call it a fad, Kandama CEO and Creative Director Victor Baguilat Jr. thinks otherwise. With NFTs, he says that we are quite possibly witnessing where Filipino fashion is headed.
“There were three other brands which just launched their NFT collection. When I heard that some brands that are familiar to me started doing NFTs, that's when I realized that maybe that's really the right direction,” Baguilat noted in an online forum. “As an artisanal and cultural enterprise, it's very important for us to be able to tell our story: the story of how our garment was made, the story of who made the product, the story of where it came from and where it will be used."
The Kandama team at New York Fashion Week
Kandama, which is a social enterprise on a mission to preserve the tradition of handloom weaving, provides social and economic opportunities for women weavers at Julongan Village in Kiangan, Ifugao where they can promote their practices and products.
Baguilat recently announced that his group has partnered with Filipino-led blockchain firm Tetrix to produce artisanal fashion NFTs. The multi-disciplinary artist claims that turning to Web3 and blockchain technologies will make their pieces more widely accessible, as owners of the pieces can now bring their designs into the metaverse.
Baguilat, whose works were featured in New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, Melbourne Fashion Week, and more, had previously been nominated as the International Designer of the Year at the International Indigenous Arts and Fashion Awards in Toronto, Canada in 2020. He has always advocated for Filipino design elements, as well.
For instance, during the showcase of his latest collection, “The Emancipation of Maria Clara,” at the New York Fashion Week in Manhattan last September, Baguilat unveiled the possibilities of what Filipino textile can be. It was also then that he understood how NFTs could further promote the pieces of Ifugao weavers and keep the deep tradition of their community alive.
“Innovation is key to preservation,” Baguilat explained. “Infusing technology with tradition is essentially part of my vision. The other important thing we’re looking at is ensuring that ethical credentials will be easily ascertained by our customers. It can guarantee our products' authenticity and prove to our customers that we are truly a sustainable cultural and social enterprise. Web3 is the future of indigenous weaves.”
The Kandama weavers
Each Kandama NFT gets its own unique code, proving the authenticity of the physical garment it represents and reflecting its journey from raw material to design and from sale to resale and recycling. The Tetrix-powered digital wallet Pitaka will be used for the settlement of transactions. It will also be the official carrier of the Kandama NFTs.
* This story originally appeared on Esquiremag.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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