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It started with a shirt that didn’t exist

byKapwa began in 2025, out of a small frustration: there was plenty of Filipino merchandise out there, and almost none of it was something you would actually want to wear. Flags on polyester. Souvenir print. Nothing that felt like now.

So we made the other thing. Premium cotton, cut oversized, printed with work that carries something — the eight-rayed sun, the waves, Mayon rising over Albay, the words we grew up with. Some pieces are tender. Some are jokes only we get. All of them are ours.

See the collection
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What “kapwa” actually means

English doesn’t have the word. Dictionaries offer “fellow being”, which is close and still wrong. Kapwa is the recognition that the person across from you shares your self — that the line between “me” and “the other” was never really there.

It’s why there is always room for one more at the table. Why a stranger is tita by the end of the afternoon. Why we send money home without being asked.

We named the brand after it because that is the job we want the clothes to do: help people recognise each other. byKapwa isn’t just clothing — it’s a whisper of heritage, carried with grace. By you. By me. By us.

Say hello
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Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.
Wear your roots
By you. By me. By us.

Good to know

Made when you order it

Every piece is printed after you place the order. Nothing sits in a warehouse, and nothing gets dumped at the end of a season. The honest trade-off: it takes a few days longer than fast fashion.

Looking after the print

Machine wash cold (30 °C), tumble dry low. No bleach, and don’t iron over the print. Turning it inside out before washing keeps the print sharp for longer.

Every design points at something

The sun’s eight rays are the eight provinces that rose first. The waves, the volcano, the words only we use. Nothing here is decoration.

Questions?

Write to hello@bykapwa.com. A person reads it.