by Jaeya Bayani

At this year’s UNDSCVRD, we had the honor of sitting with Kat Lopez-White, the founder of Katha Collection, and hearing her story.

Katha Collection is a curation of different Philippine-made fashion pieces from makers, artisans, and culture bearers. The brand was established by Kat, who was born and raised in the Philippines, and now resides in the Bay Area. The word “Katha” translates to “story” or “narrative” in Filipino.

Celebrating the beauty of Filipino craftsmanship and the tales it carries, Katha Collection blends traditional textiles, clothing, accessories, and jewelry into everyday wear. Each piece in their collection is more than just fashion; it’s a connection to the past, an homage to the present, and a gift for the future—-making each piece a part of your story.

Photo courtesy of @katha_collection_ca.

Please introduce yourself AND YOUR BUSINESS, KATHA COLLECTION.

Hi everyone, I'm Kat Lopez-White. I am the founder of Katha Collection. Our brand aims to bridge culture through fashion. What I do is that I basically work with a lot of makers, suppliers, designers, vendors, and culture bearers in the Philippines. I bring their crafts over to the diaspora, so that our folks here can show off their pride or heritage through different fashion pieces. We do ternos and handbags that are reminiscent of weaving cultures, traditions, and silhouettes that are significant to the Philippines and beyond.

Can you share the origins and inspiration behind your brand, Katha Collections, and how it embodies “stories of [our] culture” through your collaboration with artisans in the Philippines, who curate your pieces?

I was born and raised [in the Philippines]. I moved to California in 2009 to [pursue] a fashion marketing degree, but when I graduated, it wasn't the right time. We’re still assimilating that time. There were early adopters. I just kept on being inspired, researching, and keeping the dream. When I launched my brand earlier this year, there was such a great warmth and support from the community. It's really inspiring to make that impact reaching out to folks here in the Bay Area and bringing our crafts and artistry from the Philippines, through the makers that have impact in their business, livelihood, and making this circular.

“Wear it when you feel like it [and] when you feel authentic to be showing off who you are—no matter where you’re from [or where you’re in], in your journey [of] finding identity in your culture.”

— Kat's words of advice for folks seeking to embrace their Pilipinx heritage through cultural styles and self-expression.

Photos courtesy of @katha_collection_ca + @kvithleen

Your business’ namesake, “Katha,” means “narrative” in Tagalog. How have you shaped your own narrative through the formation of your business and the curation of the pieces that you offer?

I always say I'm just a bridge. This weaving tradition and this aesthetic came from ancestors over and over; but now it's our time to craft our own story, [and] make our own narrative [with] how we wear these pieces. It's a statement piece. You get stopped on the street, like, “why is your shoulder so big?” It's because it's our silhouette, and we don't have to just wear it for special occasions.

Katha Collections offers a range of products, from handcrafted ternos to handbags. How did you get connected with the network of artisans that you currently collaborate with in the Philippines, and what are highlights and obstacles of the partnership process that you’ve experienced?

No one really wore ternos outside of weddings and other formal occasion. Now there's a renaissance of bringing back this clothing tradition, this silhouette, and the textile weaves that is not only in the diaspora — whether the U.S., Canada or Dubai — but in the Philippines, as well. It's a dying art there, and if there's no one to support our artisans or wear it with pride, our ancestral craft will not survive.

I mean, shout out to Catriona [Gray] for bringing that to the mainstream through her platform, and be able to bring it closer to popular culture and make it more accessible. It's really fell into place this year because l've been researching the last 10 years making connections, fostering relationships, and building those bridges of like, "how can I find a brass from Lake Sebu?" or "where do I find the T'nalak?" These are dream weavers' hours and hours of work. They sleep and dream of the patterns. They don't just come up with it mass-produced.

🤝 MEET KATHA COLLECTION’S PARTNERS: NAWA + STYLE ISLE

Katha Collection’s artisans for **T'boli Brass Casting**, Photo courtesy of @katha_collection_ca

“Sourced by our partners in Manila (Nawa and Style Isle), we bring pieces from makers and brass casters of the T'boli tribe in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato Philippines. Two families, Fara and Blunto, have been
practicing the art gifted by Ginton, the deity of metal-work, and have been carrying on the art of "Temwel" (brass casting) for most of their lives.

Despite the challenges of the changing economic and modern times, the families have remained steadfast as crafters of the esteemed T'boli metalwork and are passing on the gift to a younger generation.”

🤝 MEET KATHA COLLECTION’S PARTNERS: KIMBERLY + GABBY

Katha Collection’s weavers/nakers, Photo courtesy of @katha_collection_ca

Meet Kimberly and Gabby, the husband and wife weavers who run the Abel and Burda ta Kaitnegan in Abra, Philippines.Kimberly started learning how to weave at age 9. Her grandfather, Luis Agaid Sr., was known as the father of Natural Dyes in the Philippines. At a young age she was taught how to source and make natural dyes found in plants and natural resources and apply them on cotton to create threads used in Inabel weaving. At age 10, her grandmother Dominga Agaid, cultural master of Inabel embroidery, trained her on different types of itneg weaving techiniques and design like Kantarines, Binakol and Dinapat.

Today, almost three decades later, they train and support 10 high school students in a scholarship program that funds their studies as well as school fees, meals and allowances. Under the training of Itneg Master weavers and Culture bearers, Kimberly and Gabby supports young weavers like Katrina, to pass on the legacy of Inabel weaving to the next generation.

Fit check! Tell us a bit about what you’re wearing!

Yes. So first, this [bag] is solihiya – a sunburst pattern from the makers in Cebu where. They weave it so that it's very much reminiscent of our furnishings. Why leave it there when you can be fashionable with it? It's paired with leather from artisans in the Philippines, from Valenzuela and Marikina. My brass-casted bracelet is from the T’boli tribe of Lake Cebu. Traditionally, they would melt the brass bells, and then cast them into different patterns of waves, rice plants, and all that. This is the dinapat from Abra. These are animals and frogs jumping during harvest. They're hand woven by Revival Dye from the School of Living Traditional in Abra.

[More of the jewelry] here is the revival of the Tamburin, which is the pre-colonial way of doing gold filigree during the Spanish era. They kind of adopted that because it resembles the rosary, but now we're doing it more modern. They're not vintage, but I'm sure your grandma and aunties have those vintage pieces, so get a hold of those. Over here is the upcycled weave from Cordillera, which is a mountain province in the Philippines. After they use the weave – instead of throwing it away – they upcycle it and pair it with different brass pieces, [to be] worn as earrings. We also have a map of our suppliers. We have worked with different tribes [and] communities in different regions.

Until now, what has been your most meaningful experience as a member of UNDSCVRD family?

I cannot name one specific moment, because I really think it's the people and the community that makes the events so memorable. Our experience has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re so grateful for the amount of support we received – being that this is our first year in business – whether it's from staff, volunteers, customers, or other vendors. [They’ve] been there to show how important it is to look back into our culture, our heritage, and our collective joy and struggles by showing up to Filipinx events like UNDSCVRD. It’s definitely the Kapwa spirit in action.

STAY IN THE LOOP W/ KATHA COLLECTION 🤎

Katha Collection: Kat Lopez-White on Bridge-Building + Embodying Our Cultural Narrative In Style