00:00A homegrown entrepreneur and dedicated advocate of fine craftsmanship and design
00:05has successfully combined her uncanny sense of business with high fashion
00:09through customized and haute couture creations that are unmistakably and proudly Filipino.
00:15Her successful career in this feature report.
00:18Here's one woman who has brought Filipino fashion to the forefront.
00:23I sat down with Ms. Len Kabili and I asked her what inspired her to create Filipina,
00:32a clothing brand that combines her entrepreneurship and creativity
00:36while celebrating Filipino heritage and culture.
00:41I grew up in Mindanao. It was the most ideal setting for an appreciation of our culture.
00:48And so growing up, I think my parents instilled deep love of our culture.
00:55I followed through and created the brand Filipina, the name pointing back to the Philippines.
01:01And there's a plus sign in the middle.
01:03And it really shows that there are two things coming together as we create,
01:08whether it's tradition intertwining with contemporary or us working with artisans.
01:13Me and my faith, as I do this type of work, that's why I ended up creating the brand,
01:19something that would showcase the craftsmanship of the Filipino artisans.
01:23Jokingly called the turtles of the industry, Filipina is a refreshing change from the world of fast fashion today.
01:30We work hard to create quality products rather than the quantity.
01:35Filipina through the years has made sure to partner with not only artisans but local designers as well.
01:41It is through these collaborations, this coming together that Filipina has thrived.
01:46All throughout this journey, I've met very interesting people.
01:51And so we tend to come in and like do a collaboration with whether it's the dolls.
01:56There was this company reached out to me and said, oh, we make dolls.
02:00And I thought, OK, let's reuse the scraps that we have into the clothing of the dolls.
02:05Whether it's collaboration with Balay Ni Atong for certain fabrics or Natalia Lagdameo for like jewelry.
02:12Right now, I think we're working on collaboration with Greg Shoes.
02:15I did furniture collaboration with Ito Kish.
02:18Creativity is always personal.
02:20And when you put two people together, I think the outcome is always something better.
02:27Imagine like all these stitchings.
02:30I don't know. Grab it.
02:32Filipina started as a personal journey for its founder.
02:34But Miss Kabili soon realized that her brand came to be seen around the world as a representative of Filipino culture.
02:42When I decided on Filipina as the brand name, little did I know that there was going to be a big responsibility carrying a brand that was pointed back to the Philippines.
02:52We've come to realize that the pieces that we create, that's an instrument or a tool for people to get to know more about our culture.
03:02We can all take inspiration and share the pride of our Filipino heritage reflected by the intricate and timeless pieces by Filipina.
