On Saturday, July 12, New Era Philippines marked 10 years of making waves in Filipino streetwear with a huge celebration at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. Hundreds of attendees gathered at a hall, transformed into the “New Era City”, to celebrate the iconic cap brand’s “decade of culture.”
The afternoon started with a dance number by two-time World Hip Hop Dance Champions, A-Team, followed by welcome speeches from New Era Asia Pacific Managing Director Daniel Broderick, New Era Philippines President Melvin Lloyd Lim, and Chief Operating Officer Marites See-Lazaro.
In his speech, Broderick emphasized the importance of community in building New Era Philippines. “The power of this brand is really what brings us all together,” he said. “I’m looking at this crowd of hundreds of people right here who are fans of the brand — this is really what it’s all about.”
The speeches were followed by “Culture Conversations”, a panel discussion on streetwear in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Moderating the talk were brand consultancy Monday Off’s Lex Celera and Paulo Reyes, who were joined by fashion brand SBTG Creative Director Mark Ong — or Mr. Sabotage — advertising agency Streething CEO Chooee Hwang, businessman Michael Concepcion, VMAN Southeast Asia Media Channels Editor Brent Javier, and stylist Florian Trinidad.
When asked what makes the region’s streetwear different from the rest of the world, Trinidad said, “Brands here are now focusing on their own roots, their own communities, their own experiences. And I’m seeing a lot of brands also that aren’t really going for the trends, but [are] actually looking at what we as Filipinos, as Southeast Asians, are trying to build and trying to be a part of.”
Following this, the evening was jam-packed with performances from icons of Filipino rock and hip-hop, including Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia, whose group collaborated with New Era in 2023 on an exclusive cap collection featuring the band’s iconography and logomark. There was also Parokya ni Edgar, Sandwich, Gloc-9, Al James, and Elmo and Arkin Magalona. And to cap it all off, New Era Philippines lit up the sky over Manila Bay with a drone show.
