Budji Layug, Kenneth Cobonpue head team of artists designing 'Millennial Home'

As far as their homes are concerned, today's generation prefers dark-walled drama with bold gold accents, a hint of Old World romance mixed with the modernity of clean lines, inspiration from foreign lands executed in native materials.

 

At least that's what a team of artists think, as presented in their Millennial Home collection, on display now at design and lifestyle expo, Manila FAME. 

 

Led by world-renowned interior and furniture designers Budji Layug and Kenneth Cobonpue, the team includes young and emerging artists: Jinggoy Buensuceso, Wataru Sakuma, Olivia D'Aboville, Leeroy New, Iñigo Elizalde, Eric Paras, and Ito Kish. 

 

Together, the team has collaborated with local manufacturers to develop their collection. 

 

According to Rosvi C. Gaetos, executive director of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the Millennial Home is one of their initiatives to establish the country as a creative center in Asia.

 

“For the March edition, we are putting the spotlight on 'The Millennial Home,'" Gaetos said. 

 

"[Layug] is the creative director for this special feature and he is working with a mix of seasoned designers, young and emerging talents to provide a special presentation of products that are developed to appeal to this new emerging generation of consumers,” she added.

 

More than that, the initiative has allowed a creative exchange between the artists.

 

For New, the 26-year-old artist whose works can be seen all over the metro (and even on Lady Gaga), the project is a learning experience. It's also the first time his designs are being mass-produced.

 

"I'm very honored to be able to learn from them. I'm always trying out new things, trying to do different things, and it's to help further my craft, further my practice," New told GMA News Online.

 

"It's always great to be working with people who are more experienced than you who have a different sensibility," he added.

 

"I don't mind hard, as long as it's fulfilling. It's really fun to work with people who do different things than you and who can help you further your ideas. It's like discovering a new technique, you know," he said.

Creative hotspots

 

Aside from the Millenial Home collection, also on view at the design expo are the creative hotspots, capsules of various art hubs around the Metro, including The Collective, Van Gogh is Bipolar, 10a Alabama, and RONAC Art Center.

 

The Collective's exhibit was a hipster dream, while Van Gogh is Bipolar's felt like some bizarre forest that had grown out of an abandoned home. 10a Alabama's space was shabby chic and delightful, while RONAC Art Center's was impossible to ignore, filled with graffitti rendered in the brightest neons.

 

“Each hotspot is a community with its unique form of expression and creative philosophy that adds to the diversity of Manila FAME and the much needed counter-culture perspective of the Philippine creative scene,” said project manager Rhea Matute.

 

More than that, the event will also feature artisanal fashion, particularly from Cebu-based designers. There will also be craft spots with live demos of old crafting traditions (such as bamboo woodwork), and a marketplace with local products from all over the country. —KG, GMA News

 

Manila FAME opened at the SMX Convention Center on March 14. It will run until March 17.