MANILA, Philippines — Close to fifteen years ago, the idea of a new type of school — one that was truly committed to professionalizing design, where the culture was hinged on encouraging authentic creativity — was born. SoFA Design Institute was to become the breeding ground for creative leaders. The school was to be a place where world class design potential was to be honed; a place that paired deep introspection and a harnessing of the critical mind with a thorough knowledge of technical and business skills. These we believe are the key attributes needed by the Design Leaders of the next generation. A combination of skills that no machine can replicate.
Fast forward to 2021, SoFA continue to translate this vision into reality. It has been Design Institute’s commitment to revolutionize Design Education in the Philippines in order to produce globally competitive creative professionals. In 2020, the heart of its learning pedagogy, the “SoFA Method”, was reimagined and transformed for the online space. Born out of a pandemic, the “SoFA C.R.E.A.T.E.” program, which stands for Collaborative Remote Experience through Art & Transformative Education, was designed to push for creative and holistic growth while upholding the values of the institution to produce Design Leaders.
It has at its core the values of critical thinking, creativity, and wellness. It has been thrilling to see and experience firsthand this brand new way of navigating the intricacies of the design process that respects the individuality and promotes the well-being of the creative learner, and aligns with the digitization of the design profession.
The SoFA Grad Show, on its 10th run, is a testament to how graduates from SoFa’s Bachelor’s Degree and 2-Year program in Fashion Design & Marketing are thriving and embracing the new world – a digital world. Sixteen creative storytellers underwent a grueling process of introspection as they dug deep about their own personal experiences, exposed their own questions about who they are and what they want to be and consequently revealed truths about themselves in the process of creating their graduation collections. All of these are tangibly knitted, woven, and sewn into beautiful garments so richly portrayed through video.
SoFA Design Institute is proud to introduce the new breed of fashion creatives who are capable of navigating today’s digital fashion landscape and able to move the Philippine design ecosystem forward. Browse through all their collections here: https://flow.page/sofa2021graduationshowcase