HE?S no Harry Potter nor Neil Gaiman, but National Artist Jose Garcia Villa could soon figure in your youngster?s wish list.

The multi-awarded poet, short story writer and literary critic best known for his comma poems is the latest icon to grace Freeway t-shirts, bags, leggings, woven tops and clutches that target the youth market, a way of paying tribute to the country?s oft-forgotten artists, according to Sheree Gotuaco, CEO of Elite Garments that include the Freeway label.

Freeway has previously featured novelist Nick Joaquin and painter Ang Kiukok in its limited edition fashion collection, ?the easiest way to create awareness and pride among our young citizens about the amazing talents that our National Artists possess,? says Sheree, who acknowledges that today?s Y generation are too young to have even heard of the artists they?ve featured.

She herself only discovered Villa?s genius when she did some research as part of her job. ?When I bought a copy of his book for children, ?Parlement of Giraffes,? I quickly became excited about the many things we can do with his work. He wrote really creative rhythmic poems for children and I thought it would be great to let more people be aware of what he has done. I immediately thought of having our launch at a school so that we can bring this effort much closer to his target audience.?

True, it can be risky to foist unfamiliar faces on a young market whose devotion to Facebook and YouTube have made anonymity their greatest enemy, but Sheree says the response so far has been encouraging. Some marketing tricks didn?t hurt, either.

?When we first paid tribute to Nick Joaquin last year, we had no idea how the market would react, so we played it safe. One of our major premises for doing the collection is that the merchandise should be visually arresting with a flattering cut and fit, so that our customers would want to buy it, whether it was part of the National Artist Series or not.?

Garcia Villa, the third artist in the series, will be featured through his poems in both English and Filipino, as well as some of his hand-drawn sketches. All items will have their own gift packaging, a swing tag of Villa?s bio and a Jose Garcia Villa authenticity stamp printed on the merchandise.

Villa was considered a powerful literary influence in the Philippines throughout much of the 20th century, although he lived most of his life in the United States and earned the title, ?Pope of the Greenwich Villages.? As critic Luis Francia explained in Asiaweek magazine,?In a world of English language poetry dominated by the British and Americans, Villa stood out for the ascetic brilliance of his poetry and for his national origin.? Villa was hailed as a National Artist in 1973.

A popular cartoonist is next in the clothing company?s artist series. ?

For more information, visit www.freeway.net.ph, its Facebook Fan Page and http://twitter.com/FreewayOnline.