In a campaign for International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), Philippines fashion brand Bench encourages LGBTQ+ youth to be their own kind of beautiful.
The campaign, done in collaboration with TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno features a film highlighting the resourcefulness and imagination of Filipino LGBTQ+ youth and their pursuit of beauty and self-expression through clothing and fashion.
‘Curtain Couture’, is the latest campaign from the fashion brand Bench that tackles LGBTQ+ themes by celebrating inclusivity, creativity, imagination, and the freedom to express oneself freely.
The film, which was released earlier this year, features real LGBTQ+ youth showing off their self-styled elaborate outfits, set to a hundred-year-old folk song, “Mariposa Bella” (Beautiful Butterfly), that describes the grace of a Filipino woman. Updated with an electronic synth beat, its lyrics gain new meaning and narrate the metamorphosis of today’s LGBTQ youth.
“As a local brand, we have always stood for Filipino creativity and diversity. With this campaign, we are putting the spotlight on the resourcefulness and imagination of the LGBTQ+ community, told through the stories of countless teens who have, once in their lives, tried making clothes out of anything that’s available,” said Ben Chan, Founder of Suyen Corporation.
According to the brand, the film was hinged on the common behavior amongst Filipino kids to play dress up. But, while boys who dress up like their dads, or girls who dress up like their moms are traditionally acceptable, most LGBTQ kids who dress outside of gender norms are still frowned upon by the Philippines’ conservative Catholic majority.
It’s through expressing ourselves at a young age that allows us to be more confident in who we are. Self-expression should be celebrated, from the clothes we wear to how we decide to wear it.
“This campaign is about the stories of many of us growing up, inspiring us to always be our own kind of beautiful,” added Chan.
Credits
Agency: TBWA\SMP
Client: Suyen Corporation
Creatives:
- Chief Creative Officer: Melvin Mangada
- Executive Creative Director: Billy Samson
- CD/Art Director: John Ed de Vera
- Copywriter: Ryan Caidic
- Art Director: James Calleja
Accounts:
- Chief Operating Officer: Portia Catuira
- Managing Director: Kathy Cosico
Planning:
- Strategic Planning Director: Rj Paculan
- Strategic Planner: Oliver Loyola
Video Production – How’s Everything:
- Producer: Michelle Dela Cruz
- Executive Producer: Vilma Niepes
- Editor: Vince Belen
- Director & DOP: Odyssey Flores
- Associate Producer: Teng Ropa
- Caster: Jett Singh
- Production Design: Christienne Abueg
- Wardrobe Stylist: Russel Conde
Audio:
- Sound studio: Soundesign Manila
- Tech: Pope Paredes and JM Leaño
- Arranger: Paolo Miguel Rañeses, Jasper Perez
DLAB:
- Digital Strategy Lead: Jean Arboleda
- Digital Media Specialist: Angel Morales
- Digital Media Executive: Giliane Romilla
