MNL Fashion Week is returning for its second edition, bringing Filipino designers, international media, regional creators, and celebrities together for four days celebrating local fashion.
Here’s everything you need to know about MNL Fashion Week 2026.
Read: What to expect from Manila Fashion Week 2025
WHAT IT IS ABOUT
MNL Fashion Week—formerly known as BYS Fashion Week—will bring four days of runway shows, pop-up galleries, and cultural programming to Manila as it continues its mission to position Filipino fashion alongside major fashion weeks in Asia and around the world.
For founder and executive director John Lozano, the platform is the culmination of a career that began with a childhood spark.
He recalls: “My mom made me watch a video of my sisters in a school fashion show. [It] sparked my curiosity in the world of fashion.”
That curiosity eventually grew into a 20-year career as a stylist, followed by projects such as Manila X, where he fused music and fashion; BYS Fashion Week, which used a beauty brand’s reach to make fashion more accessible; Flique, a street-style glossy created so “people could see themselves in the magazines.”
MNL Fashion Week, he says, is the next chapter of the same mission: “Fashion should be consumed, it should be enjoyed, it should be for everybody.
“It’s not just for people who can afford it or for people who have time to embrace it.”
That philosophy shapes the designers MNLFW chooses to spotlight.
“We’re focusing more on designers that are brands themselves,” John says, adding that the goal is to make fashion something that as many people as possible can enjoy and consume.
For 2026, he promises to build on last year’s standards while pushing the production further.
“We’re still going to highlight the best of the best in terms of Filipino brands and designers, and at the same time, it’s always a constant pursuit to push the boundaries and to see where we can bring the quality of shows here in the Philippines.”
John is quick to point out that MNLFW is bigger than its founder.
“MNL Fashion Week is not just me, it’s not just the team mounting it, it’s everybody—the directors, the designers, the production designers,” he says.
“All I know is that everybody’s going to push it further than ever before, and that’s always the goal every year.”
Read: Celebrities on runway of BYS Fashion Week 2024
What a successful run looks like
For John, success is ultimately measured by the experience MNLFW creates for the people behind and in front of the runway.
“A successful run for MNL Fashion Week for me is when the people working behind it have the best time of their lives.”
While mounting a fashion week can be stressful, John believes the fulfillment and enjoyment that come with producing the event are what keep partners coming back.
His hope is that the same feeling reaches the audience: “The success of 2026 is for everybody—not just the people working behind it, but even the audience will bring home with them a sense of fun and a sense of pride for Filipino fashion.
“That’s all I need.”
WHEN AND WHERE
MNL Fashion Week 2026 will take place from September 3 to 6, 2026, at the SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premier, McKinley Parkway, Taguig, Metro Manila.
The venue is located within Bonifacio Global City, close to major BGC destinations including Market! Market!, Bonifacio High Street, and Uptown Mall.
Read: Celebrities on runway of BYS Fashion Week 2023
WHO ARE THE DESIGNERS?
Eleven Filipino labels will headline this year’s runway, representing different approaches to contemporary Philippine fashion.
Returning designers include Antonina, HA.MÜ, Yong Studio, Charlotte Folk, Randolf, Nicolò, and Proudrace.
Joining MNLFW for the first time are Lorico, Lilah Roché, Yana Kalaw Studios, and Killjoy Studios.
The mix gives the second edition a chance to build on familiar names while introducing new voices to the MNLFW audience.
MNLFW is also stepping up its international reach.
After welcoming five to six international titles for the first time during last year’s edition, the 2026 season will be covered by L’Officiel Vietnam and L’Officiel Malaysia, Harper’s Bazaar Indonesia, GQ Singapore and GQ Hong Kong, Esquire Malaysia, Grazia Singapore, and Elle Malaysia.
Regional content creators will be in attendance, including Bá Tùng “Tyler” and Nguyen Ngoc Linh Chau from Vietnam, as well as Cissy Lia and Helen Hiuu from Indonesia.
“It only makes sense for us to double or triple that effort to make sure our local designers get the international recognition they deserve,” PR Director Vani Altomonte states in their press release.
Read: Heart Evangelista back in the fashion week scene with mom in tow
WHY YOU DON'T WANNA MISS IT
MNL Fashion Week is not positioning itself as a rival to the country’s other fashion events. For John, there is room for everyone working toward the same goal.
“I don’t see it as competition, because we’re all aiming for one goal.
“There’s a lot of fashion events in the Philippines, which is very promising—it just goes to show that there’s a lot of interest in fashion.”
He believes the country’s geography has also shaped its tendency toward division.
“The Philippines is an archipelago—we’re a collection of islands, more than 7,000, almost 8,000 islands. We’re so used to being divided.
“I feel like that’s the biggest thing that’s holding us back.”
His answer is to make MNLFW a platform that welcomes anyone who wants to contribute to the growth of Philippine fashion.
“It’s not to prove something, it’s not to show the world that we can do this better than everybody else. It’s really to bring everybody together.”
He adds, “Whoever wants to help push Filipino fashion forward globally is welcome to join MNL Fashion Week.”
The event is brings a major dose of Thai star power to Manila as well.
Among the confirmed Thai celebrities joining the festivities are Boss Chaikamon Sermsong Wittaya, known for Love in the Air; and Toptap Jarukit Kaewmoonrueang and Min Thanakorn Wichanukhor from Payback.
Ngern Anupart Luangsodsai and Oat Tharathon Phumphothingam from Fourever You are also in the roster of guests, alongside director Siwaj “P’New” Sawatmaneekul.
Other previously announced Thai stars include GL actresses Lookmhee and Sonya.
Extending the guest list further down the line is just one component of the bigger picture they envision.
Asked what he wants MNLFW to become over the next three years, John answer is surprisingly simple: consistency.
“It doesn’t really need to become anything. I feel like where it is now is where it’s supposed to be—if anything, it needs to be consistent.
“If there’s a legacy that I want MNL Fashion Week to have in the next three, five, maybe ten years, it’s really the fact that we were uniting the Filipino fashion community,” Lozano says.
“I want it to be a celebration of Filipino fashion, not a showcase.”
Read: Josh Yugen stages first Filipino-led fashion show in Denmark