Aside from her stance on sustainability, Nadine Lustre has been a huge supporter of young and emerging Filipino designers, too!
We stan a woman with a word of honor that uses her platform to uplift others around her. It’s easy to forget at times that the Nadine Lustre who raises funds to rebuild forests, purchases from small businesses, and advocates for mental health is the same person who won prestigious acting awards and the first ever Filipina to create a visual album in the Philippines. But what sets her apart in the blindingly flashy world of entertainment? She really walks the talk and supports local artists.
During one of my early shoots with Nadine Lustre two years ago, she’s taken notice of how the outfits she wore had a fresh and contemporary vibe. She immediately asked me, “where did you get all these? Can you send me the list ’cause I wanna change my style.” Now that we constantly work together, there’s a huge chance that the question’s already remained a blur, but as a stylist, I took that to heart. Every chance for her to get onstage or pose for a shoot, young Filipino designers are always prioritized. With most of the pieces commissioned, Nadine would make it a point to always ask who made the piece. She even tags them on her Instagram posts, recognizing the power of her platform. From old to new, here’s a list of all the times Nadine Lustre supported young Filipino designers—as most people should!
1. When most of her outfits in her visual album Wildest Dreams were made by young designers
For Nadine Lustre’s debut album, Wildest Dreams, and its accompanying 33-minute visual, she wore a series of show-stopping looks all created by young designers, most of whom admitted that it was their first time making a custom piece. It was the beginning of the pandemic and everything in the creative industry was in shambles, yet it’s still amazing to think how the team was able to pull it off. With the 50+ looks that made it to Wildest Dreams, if the designer wasn’t Filipino, it had to be an Asian talent. And the list wasn’t just limited to Manila, some of them were from the cities of Cebu, Iloilo and even London. The visual album also had Filipino designers who gained a cult following along the years like Proud Race, HA.MU and sculptor Herminio Tan. It was just a sign of things to come.
READ MORE: Why Nadine Lustre’s Wildest Dreams Should Be A Blueprint of Fashion Shows in the Future
2. She purchases from small businesses instead of taking it as free gifts
Nadine Lustre showing support to small businesses and eco-friendly products.
— ky | ia for a bit bc acads (@tanginadya) April 7, 2021
She dm’ed the shop to buy the products, but the owner offered her the items for free.
Look at how this bub responded and continuously supported the shop after ?
I’m stanning Nadine Lustre y’all ♥️ pic.twitter.com/xL4kyXWcA8
One thing Nadine Lustre does is keep her word. Let’s face it, most online personalities are gifted by brands (others even demand in exchange for a post), but she chooses to support these businesses by not accepting them for free. Nadine recognizes how hard it is to run a shop, given she’s a business-owner herself, which is why she insists on purchasing their works whether it’s a painting, kitchen tools or jewelry.
3. She’s consistently on the lookout for rising designers to work with
As someone who’s very particular with her outfit choices, Nadine Lustre always looks for indie designers locally and internationally. She’s admitted in the past that her ultimate pet peeve is seeing someone with the same outfit and she isn’t wrong. You’d feel the same if you were in her shoes. Some of her memorable outfits include the Scorpion look by designer Thian Rodriguez from her birthday shoot, the chainmail outfit designed by newcomer Coleen Aytona that Nadine actually discovered on Instagram for her first NYLON Manila cover, and the black, sparkly gown that shut down the ABS-CBN Ball in 2018 by Dubai-based designer Garimon Roferos.
She believes that young artists like her have the same vision of going against the grain and the key people that she chooses is not only limited to fashion, but also her team of makeup artists, photographers, and music producers to name a few.
CONTINUE READING: Nadine Lustre’s White Outfit For Absolute Madness Was Made of 10+ Upcycled Fabrics
