Filipino Designer Leads “Trashion” Show at Prestigious MIT

A Francis Sollano original design presented at MIT (photo by F. Sollano)

03 January 2018 NEW YORK – Filipino designer Francis Sollano and his designs were front and center at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Trashion Show on 29 December 2017. The event, held every December, celebrates innovative fashion design and promotes waste reduction and sustainable practices. 

Student designers from MIT and other Boston area educational institutions create fashion pieces from trash and other types of recycled materials in an ingenious presentation of design upscaling.  The resulting design pieces are then presented during the show.

For the first time in Trashion Show history, the organizers invited young Filipino designer and artist Francis Sollano to be its international featured designer. Aside from showcasing his own designs, Mr. Sollano was likewise one of the judges for the participating MIT student-designers.

Mr. Sollano likewise spoke about his design philosophy and advocacy at a Special Lecture held at MIT’s Park Lecture Hall. The lecture was on “The Role of Creativity on Community and Social Impact.” Mr. Sollano’s designs are executed by a community of women based in Negros.

After his MIT stint, Francis Sollano turned over one of this design pieces, a native Philippine weave sculpture to Philippine Consul General in New York Theresa Dizon-De Vega.  The sculpture is now on display at the Philippine Consulate General Office in New York.

Mr. Sollano has held exhibits and installations in different countries and is Co-Convenor of the Youth for a Livable Cebu or YLC.  END

For more information, visit www.newyorkpcg.dfa.gov.ph/ www.newyorkpcg.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinNY/

Francis Sollano introduces his designs at the MIT Trashion Show  (photo by F. Sollano)

Francis Sollano turns over an indigenous weave soft sculpture to Consul General Theresa Dizon-De Vega

(photo by NYPCG)