THE MNL ‘BINONDO’

03  0607  08

The MNL ‘Binondo’ is the fourth release from our ongoing MNL District Series.

The MNL District Series, which we started last year, is heavily inspired by Manila’s most famous districts. Through this series, we hope to highlight the many interesting varieties of culture and people found all over the place we call our home. The MNL District series takes a deeper look into the history and present state of each district to pay tribute to the very people who are part of it. Each community is unique in their own right and we aspire to make them proud of their roots and culture. Binondo has one of the most colorful and renowned cultural backgrounds, being the oldest Chinatown in the world, having been established in 1594.

The MNL Binondo cap has a forest green dome and a red upper bill. These colors are found on many street signs and the Chinatown gate. The traditional “MNL” Logo has been made golden, and behind the 3D Embroidery pop of the MNL Logo is an intricate dragon embroidery around the letters. The Chinese dragon, which can be found around Binondo and Chinatowns the world over,  is a symbol of power, strength and good luck for people who are worthy of it. It is said that the Emperor of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial power and strength. It is also our homage to the Chinese Year that just ended, which is the year of the dragon.

The back of the cap has an intricate embroidery of the ‘Shou’. It is the Chinese symbol for Longevity, one of the Five Blessings of Chinese belief. It is found on scrolls in nearly every Chinese calligraphy shop in the world: shòu shān fú hǎi (寿山福海), which translates as “May your life be as steadfast as the mountains and your good fortune as limitless as the seas”.

To top it off is a red snapback to match the accent of the bill. If you flip the cap over, you will see extra details under the bill. The underbrim has an intricate jade colored silk lining.

The certificates of this edition of the MNL district series will be placed in ‘Ang pao’ envelopes, which directly translates to ‘red packet’. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is meant to bring in happiness and good fortune, while dispelling negative energies or bad luck.

This cap is definitely one of our most intricate ones to date, and we hope that it brings you good luck for the entire year and the years to come. We’ll be selling these at The MNL Binondo Launch + WIPHEADS Anniversary Party, so if you wanna be one of the first ones to cop it, you know where we’ll be!

The MNL ‘Binondo’ will be available at our loyal stockists and partner stores, as well as our online shop, starting Feb. 3, 2014.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! :) KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!


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