De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, through Project MODA for the Better: Facing the Future Together of its Mark of Designers Alliance, had students design masks that will be distributed to the children of Barangay Baraka in Norzagaray, Bulacan.
Mark of Designers Alliance is the professional student organization of the Fashion Design and Merchandising program of the university.
Fashion designer-educator Trina Peñaflorida guided the students in developing their respective concepts via a specialized workshop on basic mask construction and computer-aided design. Out of over 120 participating young style innovators, Year Burst by budding artist Andrei Valera won.
“The tiger symbolizes the strength everyone has for having gone through the past years no matter how difficult. The colors represent the blazing energy one must have going forward,” Valera said.
Barangay Baraka, with a population of 548 according to the 2020 census, has the age group five to nine years old as its highest population. Those aged 14 and below comprise at least 37 percent of the town’s residents.
The said project, in partnership with Food for the Hungry Philippines, commemorates the coming National Children’s Month. It also aims to raise awareness on the importance of wearing masks and health protocols as students have resumed limited face-to-face classes.