Topnotch Filipino knitwear designer Lulu Tan-Gan will unveil her bridal collection for destination weddings at the ASEAN Fashion Plus fashion show in Bangkok this month.

"My collection is contemporary Filipino-inspired," said Tan-Gan whose label is known for simple yet elegant clothing that are also light and flexible.

Also an entrepreneur, Tan-Gan has nine outlets, five of which are in department stores. Elsa Klensch featured her collections in CNN Style in 1997 and 1998.

With more than 20 years in the local and international fashion industry, Tan-Gan has been acclaimed in Japan, Australia, Europe, and the United States. She is a board member of the Alliance Francaise de Manille since 2002 and was recipient of the Chevalier dans l’Order des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.

Together with the Department of Trade and Industry, she exhibited in a number of Philippine programs for fashion including Pret-a-Porter in Porte de Versailles, Paris, Top Lines in Motion in Amsterdam and Milan as well as Linea Filipina in Dallas and New York, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as in Tokyo and Hong Kong.

"The Philippine fashion brands’ strength is our east-west sensibilities and our capacity for medium volume, high value deliveries," she explained.

She said the country has what it takes to get a bigger market share in the international fashion industry: "determined government support, consistent annual marketing budget regardless of change in administration, credibility of the private sector as well as time-motion based on competitive efficiency of other Asian countries, including China."

Tan-Gan was president of the Fashion Design Council of the Philippines or FDCP from 1995 to 2001. She was instrumental in the partnership between the FDCP and the government through the DTI’s then Garment and Textile Export Board for the country’s participation in the International Young Fashion Designers Competition in Paris.

Her participation in the ASEAN Fashion Plus is also a part of the Philippine initiative to strengthen local fashion brands and create a venue for these brands to present their franchise offers, store concepts, and designs in the global market.

The Philippine participation is spearheaded by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions and the Garments and Textiles Industry Development Office (GTIDO) of the Department of Trade and Industry. It is also supported by the Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines and the Garments Business Association of the Philippines.

ASEAN Fashion Plus is also expected to strengthen collaboration among ASEAN member countries towards the integration of the region as a sourcing bloc. The event will be held on August 13-16 at the Impact Exhibition Center, Muaong Thong Thani, Bangkok, Thailand.

As ASEAN countries hope to become the center of fashion, Tan-Gan says, "Each ASEAN country has been promoting its fashion industry through its fashion trade events. Which country is really qualified or will be successful? Is it a country with more talent or with more garments infrastructure?"

For more information on the Philippine participation, visit www.manilafame.com and sourceASEAN.com