“Just like everybody else, I felt very numb when the pandemic hit. As a freelance fashion photographer, it was hard for me to function normally when all of sudden, the world paused. I began to slack off and accept the fact that my career will be put on hold but a trend came in where people fancied creating small businesses and with that, I was able to make ends meet by being a product photographer,” recalls fashion photographer Brian Mamawan.
“Seeing all thriving businesses whom I worked with inspired me to have one. The inspiration awakened my long-time frustration of having my clothing line. In its early stages of development, I wanted to cater to those who are like me; nonchalant individuals who are lazy but productive at their own pace. Having that in mind, I carefully took time in curating what people like me would want to wear all the time and that gave me the idea of making comfortwear which some may call the Normcore.”
“Comfortwear is not even a word yet but everyone gets it. I like the idea so much that I wanted to create an outfit that is versatile enough to be worn at home while working or doing household chores, and decent enough to be worn outside when doing errands like buying something at the mall or doing groceries.”
“So when I finally decided to push through with the idea, I lacked hugely on manufacturing, which hindered me to come up with the outfit so I focused on what the suppliers in Pampanga (where I originally hailed from) can easily create and the closest type of garment that I can have is a hoodie.”
“Come the last quarter of 2021, I just became very spontaneous with my plan and went on with it. I chose 2 colors to begin with, which I named ‘Sand‘ for Beige and ‘Chaos‘ for Black. Beige being visually warm somehow reminds me of the beaches in the Philippines that a lot of people have been dying to go to and there goes Black which is a favorite of many, a classic choice.”
With the approaching sweater weather, now is the perfect time to get a hoodie update. Benevolent clothing is available online at www.studiobenevolent.com and @studiobenevolent on Instagram.
