Wazzup Pilipinas!?
On the 67th birthday of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), the Filipino counterpart of the Fridays for Future movement led by climate activist Greta Thunberg, delivered a compelling message of horror and resistance through ‘The Horror: Fashion Against Fascism and Fossil Fuels’ at the Ignacio B. Gimenez - KAL Theater in UP Diliman.
In the one and half hour full house show, models and activists alike used fashion and style in a haunting performance of the grotesque and filthy injustices done in our nation under President Marcos Jr.’s reign. From the burying of genuine climate initiatives through tree-planting projects, to the lack of a just transition framework that protects both the environment as well as our working people, the glaring neglect and atrocities done under the president’s tenure were brought to the spotlight for all to see.
A major shift from YACAP’s previous fashion shows, this year’s iteration of Fashion Against Fascism and Fossil Fuels (FAFFF) focused not only on the external disasters we face but also the tumultuous anxieties and rage of the youth at the destruction and injustices we face today under the climate crisis. The event shaped up to be an explosive yet entrancing show for everyone attending. Models include senatorial aspirant and fisherfolk leader Ronnel Arambulo of PAMALAKAYA, environmental defender and abduction survivor Eco Dangla, rising actress Cristina Ponce, along with other renowned models and representatives from different sectors united in a diverse line-up determined to reveal their struggles and expose its roots causes. The gorgeous but chilling designs provided by well-known artists and designers, such as Kevin Raymundo and Santi Obcena, not only served to heighten the models’ beauty, but also to highlight the fashion show’s important and pressing message of climate justice.
“The glaring incompetence and willful negligence of the current Marcos Jr. administration has ended in not only the loss of livelihood, but the lives themselves of the Filipino people,” said Alab, producer and national coordinator of YACAP. “ Calamities happen on the daily and the youth are watching it all crash and burn live, yet we are expected to let things proceed business as usual. This fashion show is our rejection of that: listen to our fears and feel our rage. This is our resistance.”
With this haunting show came a distinguished lineup of VIPs such as Pura Luka Vega, Yani Villarosa, Shanne Dandan, and Lyn Alumno that attended in support of addressing the environmental and social issues at the heart of the event. Even when the event closed, the whole team wasn’t about to let the show end. As Director Karl Castro said, “The garments strutted tonight on the runway reflects and echoes the plight of today’s generation of the youth and marginalized sectors most affected by the climate crisis. We hope that through this fashion show, more people realize that we are actually living in a reality more terrifying than a horror movie under this administration.”
Rae, regional coordinator of YACAP’s NCR chapter adds, “Through this show, we encourage our audience to join us during the Global Climate Strike on September 20. Together, let us confront the chilling reality of the climate crisis, and turn our collective fear into fierce action to fight for a future where we can all survive.”
YACAP leaves an indelible mark yet again on the climate action and fashion scene with The Horror as they convey decades worth of the youth’s rage built up at all the environmental atrocities done in the name of profit for the few. At the root of this rage is anger at the destruction of not only their present, but also their future. Do not be fooled by the smoke and the shining lights, these kids mean serious business; tonight, their anger cried for action and justice. With this, YACAP will be conducting a reprise of the fashion show on the 52nd Anniversary of Martial Law, September 21 at the Liwasang Bonifacio Freedom Park, because as the raging youth of YACAP says: The horror never ends until the climate crisis does.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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