MANILA – Even with the presence of global fast fashion labels in the Philippines, homegrown brand Plains & Prints remains relevant to its target customers.

How were they able to keep up? Roxanne Farillas, owner and founder of Plains & Prints, said the key is avoiding direct competition and focusing on their own strengths.

“Everyone knows that the retail scene has been very, very competitive. With all the fast fashion brands coming in, it’s not easy for the local retailers to compete with them,” Farillas told ABS-CBN News. “They are bigger, they have bigger spaces, and they are cheaper.”

“But we don’t go down or decrease our price so as to compete with them,” she added.

Plains & Prints was founded in 1994, targeting women who are “strong in spirit and confident in her femininity.”

More than 20 years later, the brand has retained its image and has become the go-to shop for stylish yet affordable clothes, particularly for working women.

“We make sure that we keep what we are known for, our strengths,” explained Farillas, who also handles merchandising, creatives and marketing for her brand. “We stick to our market. We stick to what we know.”

STAYING RELEVANT

Instead of getting Hollywood celebrities and Asian superstars as endorsers, Plains & Prints taps local talents to promote their clothes.

Currently representing the brand is Anne Curtis, one of the hosts of the ABS-CBN noontime program “It’s Showtime.”

To stay relevant in the local fashion scene, Plains & Prints also occasionally collaborates with top designers. Early this week, the 15-piece collection featuring young couturier Vania Romoff was launched to members of the media.

“Just last year, we had a collaboration with five designers, and Vania was one of them. People were asking for more of Vania’s pieces, so I’m very, very excited with this collection,” Farillas said.

“Vania’s style is very romantic, very feminine, and that’s also Plains & Prints,” she added. “She loves prints, and we’re very strong with prints. That’s what the market wants.”

The 15-piece collection took them a year to finish, according to Farillas. It includes dresses, blouses and bottoms, each taking inspiration from spring.

Talking about the pieces she designed for Plains & Prints, Romoff told ABS-CBN News: “The collection has a classic vibe to it. It’s fresh, it’s young, it’s fun, it’s lighthearted… I took the consideration that it had to be wearable. It had to be something that women of all sizes can wear to work and to parties.”

“I think people know me for my feminine classics, designs that are always effortless and nothing avant garde. I design to make women people feel beautiful about themselves, that’s really the point of my design,” Romoff ended.