YACAP set to highlight PH environmental crisis for FAFFF 2024
Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) is geared up to host the third run of Fashion Against Fascism and Fossil Fuels (FAFFF), its annual fashion show, celebrating the Global Day of Environmental Action against fossil fuels and environmental injustice, to be held at the Ignacio B. Gimenez Theater in UP Diliman on September 13.
Entitled “The Horror!”, this year’s show aims to reveal the political foundations that intensify the experience of the climate crisis in the Philippines. They also strive to significantly contribute to the Global Climate Strike 2024, a worldwide movement highlighting the urgency of the crisis, and reach wider audiences through the merging of fashion, performance, and environmental advocacy.
FAFFF 2024—coinciding with the Global Climate Strike, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 67th birthday, and Friday the 13th—will center on the intersection of climate and health, focusing on the systemic issues that worsen both, while also addressing the long-lasting impacts of historical injustices on the environment and public well-being. It consists of six main themes, namely: the greenwashing efforts, insufficient response to climate vulnerability, a persistent political and economic interest in fossil fuels, lack of a just transition framework and promotion of false solutions, defense of national patrimony and biodiversity, and environmental defenders against fascism.
Furthermore, the show is a creative collaboration between youth leaders, environmental advocates, and artists, featuring visually striking narratives that blend fashion with horror. The show will embrace a dark, gothic, and fantasy-inspired aesthetic with a musical theater approach, expressed through the models’ clothing and make-up during both the photo shoot and the event.
By playfully engaging with these themes, the performances will evoke the fears and challenges during the Marcos Jr. administration, as part of a larger chain involved with the widespread greenwashing efforts, to confront the audience with the reality of the future if immediate climate action is not taken.
First launched in 2022, in observance of Martial Law’s “golden” anniversary, FAFFF aims to heed the call for immediate climate action against fossil fuels in an artistic way.
Meanwhile, the reprise of the FAFFF 2024 will take place on September 21, the Martial Law Commemoration Day, at the Liwasang Bonifacio and Mendiola, Manila.
YACAP is a nationwide coalition of youth organizations, individuals, and student councils dedicated to advocating for urgent global climate action driven by young people. Founded in 2019 and part of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future network, YACAP highlights the connection between climate justice and the struggles of society’s most marginalized groups, working collectively for significant change.
Photo courtesy of YACAP