When Utility Meets Urban Grace In Martin Uy’s Designs
The fashion frontline is the new battlefield. Martin challenges traditional fashion norms with bold, gender-fluid styles featuring hooded jackets, asymmetrical cuts, and utilitarian elements
Modern warriors
Martin Uy‘s clothes don’t just blur the lines between masculine and feminine—it completely reimagines the relationship between military utility and contemporary fashion.
His signature pieces feature hooded jackets that seem to float between streetwear and high fashion, with unexpected asymmetrical cuts that challenge conventional silhouettes. Martin’s designs are armor for the modern age, where personal identity becomes a daily battlefield.
The clothes’ utilitarian elements—cargo pockets, reinforced seams, and tactical straps—are reimagined through a lens of luxury and fluidity, which creates pieces that work as seamlessly in an art gallery as they do on city streets.
Identity as battleground
Drawing inspiration from both Manila’s urban landscape and his experiences as an Asian designer in a Western-dominated industry, his work speaks to a global audience while maintaining distinctly Filipino elements.
What sets Martin’s work apart is his understanding that modern warfare isn’t fought with weapons but with identity and self-expression. Utilitarian pockets become statements of practicality and power, while hoods offer both protection and anonymity in a world of constant surveillance.
This story appears in the pages of VMAN SEA 01: now available for purchase!
Photography BJ Pascual
Creative direction Vince Uy
Fashion Andre Chang
Grooming Thazzia Falek
Grooming assistants George Dillinger, Vincci Tardes, and Jhessie Recto
Hair Patty Cristobal
Nails Luz Fortuno (Triple Luck Brow and Nail Salon)
Retouching Summer Untalan
Models Diego Morissens (Luminary), Kensuke Adachi (Mercator), Eugene Reggio (Mercator), and Jubei Caceres (IM Agency)
Production Jones Palteng
Fashion assistant Kurt Abonal
On location PioneerX Studios
