AS MAJOR economies inch their way out of recession, leading Southeast Asian textile and garment manufacturers are facing the future with renewed hope and fresh ideas to expand their overseas markets.

Nowhere was this excitement more palpable than in Bangkok when Thailand hosted a week ago a four-day three-in-one event at Impact: Bangkok International Fashion Fair, Bangkok International Leather Fair and Asean Fashion Plus.

While the first two shows gave buyers the world over the best garments, shoes and leather accessories from Thailand, the third component highlighted clothes and accessories, and their manufacturers and designers from Southeast Asia.

As chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and regional leader in garments and leather goods, Thailand invited the various trade and industry departments of Asean, and gave exhibitors free space.

Leading the move to create an open market in Asean and produce ?Made in Asean? products are the region?s garments and textile makers who have committed to a duty-free, open market by 2010. To qualify for the Asean tag, any product should have at least 40-percent Asean component.

Asean bloc

?The development poses both challenges and opportunities for every country,? said Felicitas Agoncillo Reyes, assistant secretary of the Philippines? Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). ?We?d like to look at it from the point of view of opportunity, which means free access for our products to a huge and growing market.?

Working together as a regional bloc will also give Asean members more weight as it deals collectively with the likes of China, the United States and European Union.

Reyes, concurrent head of DTI?s Garments and Textile Industry and Development Office, sees the lack of raw materials, such as fabrics, more as an advantage.

?The region, including China, has more textile mills than there?s demand for textiles,? she said. ?There?s an oversupply in spindle capacity.?

The seeming disadvantage allows Filipino manufacturers and exporters to be more nimble as they focus on ?high quality? production others are incapable of doing. They may have the textile mills, said Reyes, but they probably don?t have the Filipino?s design sensibilities.

The country?s ?wholesale slaughter,? she added, began as early as 2005 when the US lifted import quotas on garments, resulting in a virtual free-for-all among developing countries. For most Filipino garment exporters, the worst seems over.

?We don?t intend to compete with other countries in doing cheap, basic stuff,? said Reyes. ?We don?t stand a chance. We?re more into high-end products that require, among others, quality and attention to details.?

There?s reason to be optimistic, she added, as signs point to an end in the recession even before 2009 is over.

?Even the US, which has been hard hit, is looking at a new sunrise,? said Reyes. ?And the best time to prepare for that sunrise is now.?

Tan Gan?s ?piña?

In turn, the DTI invited 15 of the country?s leading manufacturers and exporters, including several top designers such as Lulu Tan Gan, Rajo Laurel, Rhett Eala, Dita Sandico Ong and Patrice Diaz, to grace the Philippine pavilion.

Apart from producing quality products, most of the participants have the capability and track record to export and expand their markets abroad.

Tan Gan presented a capsule collection combining piña with her trademark knits as part of a regional group show marking the fair?s opening. She has been exporting her figure-friendly, wrinkle-resistant separates for decades now.

?There?s a growing demand for dresses as well as wedding gowns for resort weddings,? said Tan Gan. ?Looser, less structured silhouettes incorporated with piña and a hint of beadwork fall under what I describe as bohemian couture.?

Now, she said, was the right time to consolidate and venture into new areas as the global market realigns, examines its priorities and becomes more selective. Like her colleagues, she hoped the government would remain consistent and open in its support.

Laurel plans to present the same collection inspired by an evening at the ballet (he showed the same pieces at Inquirer Lifestyle?s ?Face Off? last June) in New York to coincide with fashion week this September. He welcomed the opportunity to launch a regional ?trial? in a big venue such as Bangkok.

?This is our biggest international participation in so many years, but this isn?t just a selling show,? said Reyes, while giving credit to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), an agency of DTI, for producing a black and apple green pavilion that stood out.

People from the Board of Investments were also present to help Filipino exporters and manufacturers forge regional partnerships.

?Partnerships may come in the form of additional distributors, franchisees, investors and even suppliers of raw materials like textile,? said Reyes.

Allan Hao Chin, managing director of Lancaster Colors International Inc., felt that the only way for his company, which manufactures and sells baby dresses under the Periwinkle brand, to grow is to find buyers and distributors abroad.

?After opening 16 stores in the Philippines, growth has been limited,? he said. ?If we are to grow at a faster rate, our current thrust should be to expand globally.?

Philippine map

José Enrique Qua, managing director of Collezione C2, agreed. He?s one of Eala?s current collaborators in producing quality sportswear stamped with the iconic Philippine map.

?We?re not selling souvenir items, but a lifestyle,? he said. ?We need an international platform to reach out to more people regardless of nationality as we advance a universal brand aimed primarily at global Pinoys.?

Eala added: ?When we were looking for symbols for the Philippines, the map would always come out on top of our discussions and informal surveys. Because of its unique formation, even foreigners are drawn to it.?

Although fairly new in the export scene, Diaz realized there?s still a demand for products with a handmade feel. Like her colleagues, apart perhaps from Eala, she has no plans to cater to mass market.

Instead she?s working with weavers in Aklan and Palawan on new processes and materials derived from indigenous fibers such as piña, abaca and even saluyot to produce limited off-the-rack pieces for her Paradi line.

?It?s also about tapping into the psyche of people,? Diaz said. ?Once they become aware that the unique piece they?re about to buy was woven for them by somebody, they become more appreciative of it and the story behind it.?

While Laurel described his RTW separates as ?occasional dressing,? Diaz called hers ?everyday luxury.?

?The world is really getting smaller,? said Laurel. ?I feel there?s so much more out there. If Bea Valdes? design can make it on the cover of British Vogue, perhaps we can, too. Her achievement has been such an inspiration to all of us.?

But they had to start somewhere. And for most of them, Bangkok was the start of the quest to capture the world.