Giveaway:Busog

Article written by: Asmara Wreksono
Posted on: May 21, 2010

To show Americans and the rest of the world that Asia does not only consist of Japan and China, Busog Clothing Line makes a grand entrance with its Philippines culture-inspired designs.

The name Busog (pronounced boo-soog) comes from a Tagalog word that means “full”, as it is a must to be full (of food) in any Filipino home. This is the main Busog principle: to make sure you are full and satisfied with the clothing. Darwin Dion Ignacio feeds SoJones with delicious details on Busog clothing.

Introduce yourself and describe how your brand was started?

I was born on August 9, 1980 and raised in Queens, NY. Went to school in Archbishop Molloy HS (’98), graduated The Pennsylvania State University (’02) with a BA in Telecomm and BA in Digital Arts. My professional background is all in the creative relm but more specifically as a film editor. While I remain active in a bunch of professions such as real estate, film editing, volunteering to help children in the community in a mentorship program, teaching hip hop at ShockRA dance studio, I save up everything earned from this to put towards the brand.

I have always been a huge fan of fashion, being an only child, I wouldn’t say I was spoiled with clothes but had an over abundance of clothes that most recently I went back to my parents house and was able to donate over 30 garbage bags of clothes to a local church for the Christmas season. It all started because I was looking at my good friend, Don’s portfolios for a character (around Dec ’08) that I could use to animate as practice then saw a vectorized picture of a cartoon version of himself. And I said to myself, that’d be an awesome character for a shirt… then it started from there. Being a Filipino-American, I consulted with my friend Chermaine about a name for the brand that would mean a lot culturally and would educate some of our language, Tagalog, to the mainstream. BUSOG it was and it means full in tagalog, full as in stuffed of food but yet I play it off in all different types of  “full”. Our main mascot , is called Panda Sal , it’s more like a hybrid panda ‘cuz I put it out there in public and everyone called it a panda.. even though it wasn’t.. haha. The pun in making the name of the mascot is that we have a very common bread in the Philippines called “pandesal” so the name of the brand had a very significant influence in naming the mascot. Having great contacts in the dance industry is how I started my collaborations with famous dancers such as Shabba-Doo (Ozone from Breakin’ & Breakin’ 2 : Electric Boogaloo), The Beat Freaks, Quest Crew etc.

Being full is also my goal in life, I want everyone to understand where i’m coming from. I go the extra mile to help those in need, without even trying. I put others before myself just so I can see them happy and thus in return that makes me happy. Without the gift of giving, I can not be filled and so I think this is just another way of mine to give back to everyone. To find a style/fashion that people can relate to and thus have a meaning and purpose for wearing. I hope you will support me and my designers.

Describe this season’s theme for your line. Include any sources of inspiration (examples: 80’s punk, muses like Amber Rose, 70’s disco bands, Kanye, etc)

This season’s theme has a lot to do with going beyond the scope of the designs from last year and bringing back the some cut & sew pieces into play. As usual we print very limited amounts of each design … anywhere from 35-100pcs. I like the feeling of exclusivity when it comes to brands because i’m sure many people have experienced going to a club, lounge, or party and you see one or more people have the same shirt in a large crowd. I always believe inspiration comes from within, however my sources are an conglomerate of what I see around me everywhere I go, from television, music lyrics, dance movements.. all the way to architecture while walking through New York City.

Any product placements on celebs to keep an eye out for (examples: publicity photos, magazines, movies, music videos etc)

While living in the city for 5 years, I had met tons of people, one being Tamar who is the founder of Last Word PR (Lil’ Jon / Jim Jonsin ) , upon meeting her and letting her know of my plans to start a clothing line, said that I should do a design for Lil’ Jon and she’d make sure he received it. So early in ’09 Lil Jon received a box with hoodies of the design and Twittered about it mentioning me saying “ Good $hit my ninja ! “ and was also seen wearing it along with Shawty Putt in Switzerland later last year.

Keep an eye out for the Shabba-Doo design to be featured in an instructional DVD with Shabba-Doo , Rino (The Beat Freaks/Harajuku girls) and Lockadelic (Lady Gaga). Ryanimay from Quest Crew was recently seen wearing our ‘Stare’ shirt on Baby Bash’s “Outta Control” video. Also new filipino rapper BDubez music video “Brigada Anthem / Rise Of The Champion” to air on MYX and MTV Asia rocking Panda Sal Necklace T.

Magazine and TV appearances still in the works but if you follow us on Twitter.. we will update you once things are locked in : Please follow us at @busogmeansfull

What has been a surprise fashion hit over the last year? (a particular piece, a look or even another brand)

First is the return of the oversized print has definitely made a comeback. You see it a lot in the streetwear fashion, whether it be just huge text or repeat patterns that covers the front and/or back of the shirt. I won’t even mention the comeback of plaid cuz that’s been coming back for like 4-5 years now, same thing with the skinny jeans. Although I have noticed a huge comeback for headgear. The fitted cap, fedoras, beanies…..I’d say another thing to lookout for this year would be the comeback of track jackets from the 80’s… thanks to NBA players and Sue Sylvester on Glee.

What current fashion trend would you like to see thrown overboard?

SKULLS ! haha way too much of this out there…Also the whole take on the original “I Heart NY” shirt must go … There’s way too much copying of this layout going on that it gets so played out and unoriginal.

What is/was one of your most prized fashion pieces, past or present?

By far I’d say would be The Beat Freaks caricature/cartooning has been taken very well all around.. it’s what’s really gotten my name out there to other designers and stylists. Pnutink was the artist on this and he was excellent in paying attention to the direction that I gave him, even making changes last minute to get it done. This is the piece that has gotten the BUSOG name out there because of the worldwide fan base that The Beat Freaks reach out to .

TuPac or Biggie?

Hmm that’s a tough one but since I do listen to Biggie more and being a born New Yorker, i’m gonna go with Biggie. When it comes to spittin flow, it doesn’t get better than Biggie : phat beats, but most of all he brings it RAW !

Still craving more Busog to make you… well, Busog?  Head over to their official website at www.busogmeansfull.com to check out their stuff, which are retailed from $28 to $30.  Below are some SoJones favorites from Busog to get your appetite worked up.

BUSOG GIVEAWAY!!
We are giving away 3 TEES via the “SoJones Article Comments Lottery”.

Here’s how it works:
1. Every SoJones comment posted on this page from May 21st to May 28th counts as a “lottery entry”. Also make sure when you comment, have a link to somewhere we can contact you (like your SoJones account, your facebook, etc.). It makes it easier to contact you if you win.
2. Drawing for FOUR winners will be held on May 28th. Winners will be announced on this page and on the forums page (http://www.sojones.com/forums/).

Article Comments Lottery Rules
One item per winner
Previous winners must wait 30 days before entering this contest
Duplicate comments will not count, like posting “I love this forum” or “hi” 50 times.
Garbage or nonsensical comments will not count, like “awr#$ASFasdfkl”
Comments hating on other people will definitely NOT count.
U.S. residents only