Five Filipino Artists that Perfectly Meshes Their Music and Fashion

Fashion and music have always been interconnected. Fashion inspires music and vice versa.

The two have a long history of being a muse to one another, becoming a defining feature throughout the years. Many artists build their persona through fashion, using it as a medium to express their individuality. Most of the time, it becomes part of their branding and a way to market their music.

Yves Saint Laurent Spring 1988 Couture

Think of David Bowie’s iconic suits, Avril Lavigne’s skater-girl aesthetic, and Harry Styles's gender-bending fits - in some way, it makes an individual more unique and relatable. Fashion can be a platform for musicians to emotionally connect with their audience, giving them access to a part of their life.

Because both are a form of self-expression, it’s no surprise that many musicians even open their clothing line (Rihanna’s Fenty, Victoria Beckham) or collaborate with renowned fashion houses.

In the Philippines, artists don’t fall short when it comes to their fashion. A recent campaign of H&M highlighted Filipino artists with eccentric styles. H&M collaborated with Unique Salonga, and BGYO, even hosting a live session with Adie, Earl Generao, Pappel , Kenaniah, and EMN'9. This wasn’t the first time Unique was featured by a global brand, last 2019, Fashion house Gucci also collaborated with the musician.

The success of their campaigns launched a stage for Filipino musicians and fashion to merge.

With the continuous growth of fashion in the Philippines, as seen with the launch of the fashion bible Vogue Philippines last September 2022, all eyes are on the pearl of the orient sea - which is why it is natural that we go all in and don’t disappoint. For this article, we feature five artists that have a world-class fashion sense that perfectly matches their music:

1. Unique Salonga

Unique Salonga is one of the most experimental when it comes to fashion. With his iconic hairstyle and circular-rimmed glasses, the singer was able to attract fashion brands and was able to land himself in different Filipino fashion publications. Unique embodies his name, he has a clear-cut vision of how he wants to express his artistry. He perfectly blends grunge and classic wardrobe that matches his psychedelic and experimental music.

2. Zae

One of the rising talents in the Filipino Hip-Hop community, Zae breaks the bounds as a female rapper in a male-dominated industry. Her fashion is a direct translation of her songs, unapologetic and feminine. If there’s one thing that we can take away from her style, is that you don’t have to change a thing about yourself just to fit in. Zae aims to show Filipina rappers can make it too, don’t get confused, she’s no Nicki ng Pinas but she is the Queen Z of the Nation.

3. Zild Benitez

Alongside his bandmate Unique Salonga, Zild Benitez is also making waves in both the music and fashion industry. He’s also very experimental. When he was starting, Zild was flaunting 90s fashion, but as time went by, he found his way to express himself and his song through his emo-grunge influence. From his eyeliner, hand socks, and black apparel, you can gather where he gets his inspiration from his songs.

4. Denise Julia

Certified hitmaker Denise Julia is also a fashion icon. Her mellow songs carry over to her fashion, chill, and relaxed. The Filipina gained international popularity when her song NVMD blew up in TikTok, giving her millions of streams. With her rise to fame, we better watch out for what else she can bring.

5. Issa Pressman

One thing about Issa Pressman is that her style is bold and minimal at the same time. Harmony and balance as things should be. Issa Pressman loves recycling her clothes and coming up with ways she can elevate them.

“My personal style, honestly, is so free. It's so open. I have a hard time sticking to like one style. I honestly depend my style on the day—it's basically like listening to music. I can't really stick to one genre when I want to listen to music, because it puts me in the mood.” She said in an interview with preview.

It’s always intriguing how fashion and music collide, as seen with these artists, the way they express their music can also be translated into their sense of style. Somehow, our taste in music has a direct correlation with the clothes that we wear.

As the music industry grows, we hope to see more collaborations among fashion brands and musicians.