Style is often at its best when it feels personal and authentic; when what you wear carries a story, whether the designer’s or the wearer’s, it just becomes more than a piece of clothing. Daryl Maat’s Kaaraawaaann collection is exactly that—rooted in memory and the shared nostalgia of Filipino childhood.

A fashion designer with a penchant for reinventing traditional Filipino formal wear with a fresh, playful edge (as seen in his celebrity-favorite Pad Paper Barong), Maat debuted this collection during Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2025 with birthday party-inspired pieces that draw inspiration from a childhood memory Maat never had. 

“This collection is kind of like my personal and cultural love letter to Filipino birthday parties, especially birthday parties in school, which I never experienced,” he says. “It’s like transforming my unfulfilled wish into a tactile runway story.” Indeed, the collection stands out with hand-embroidered ternos and barongs with whimsical scribbles and drawings, as well as a patchwork of Inabel fabrics. 

“The goal is for the audience to step into a memory wherein they can smell the icing on the cake and the chalk dust, and they can hear the laughter of their classmates and the parlor games. I just want everything to feel nostalgic, for the audience to see the birthday in a classroom through a designer lens,” the designer added.

The Kaarawaaannn Collection is available for pre-order via Daryl Maat's Instagram page.

Price range: P299 to P2,999

Visit Daryl Maat on Instagram.