The Trade Department recently launched Marahuyo by Go Lokal!—a luxury brand made from local materials by the country’s top independent, niche designers.
Go Lokal! is an amalgam of locally-designed and crafted knickknacks, wearables, footwear, jewelry, food and food supplement, snacks and toys that define what Filipino culture is.
Marahuyo, a premium line of Go Lokal!, upscales everyday wearables into artistic pieces of jewelry, trinkets, purses and bags.
“This is a dream that has become a reality. Every Filipino is a stakeholder on this, whether as buyer, designer or producer,” Trade assistant secretary Rosvi Gaetos said during the launch of the brand in its first boutique at the Duty Free Luxe in Pasay City.
Marahuyo is an ancient indigenous term that means “to be enchanted”. The brand exudes a millennial vibe with the infusion of modern and traditional designs to create a unique piece of artistic handiwork suitable for select occasion.
The sub-brand supports emerging Philippine designer brands that cater to the higher-end luxe market.
The boutique sits on 50-square-meter space at the Luxe DFS. Designed by creative director Budji Layug, it is now home to some of the country’s most beautiful, meticulously-crafted luxury accessories.
The brand teamed up with Duty Free Philippines Corp. which provided a distinctive spot for the Marahuyo boutique.
“The Philippine designer brands you will find at Marahuyo are socially responsible enterprises who work with local communities to create using traditional and indigenous materials. In fact, every purchase from this boutique contributes to the livelihood of our Filipino craft communities,” Gaetos said.
For the initial collection, Marahuyo offers designs that reflect the country’s rich culture of entrepreneurship and creativity. They are distinctly Filipino.
The first set of Philippine brands carried by the store includes Aranaz, Earl Carlo Gariando Enterprises, Quiddity and Mele + Marie for handcrafted bags; Helena Alegre Jewelry, designer of scriptural and fabricated jewelry; Maria Angelica Rare Finds for antique accessories; Joanique, Arnel Papa and Adante Leyesa, designers of fashion accessories; and Joyce Makitalo and Ann Ong, a fashion jeweler.
For the next season, the brand will come up with an impressive, utilitarian home accessories collection along with fashion.
“We hope to get onboard many brands that meet the Marahuyo qualification,” Gaetos said.
The brand will also add renowned artists and designers for its home accessories collection.
The brand is looking at expanding to the Duty Free Store in Cebu for a second boutique,
targeting foot traffic from affluent local tourists and foreign visitors.
“Go Lokal! really began by supporting medium-priced products which is where the majority of our MSMEs were positioned. There remained a number of SMEs that catered to the higher-end market, using locally-available resources to create luxurious designs of high quality—what we now refer to as ‘Practical Luxury’. These are the businesses the Trade Department now supports with Marahuyo,” Gaetos said.
The platform has already assisted some 500 MSMEs, 125 of which have become regular suppliers of partner retail establishments.
Go Lokal! retails through 114 stores nationwide with record sales of over P100 million in 2018.