Basketball is truly in the Philippines’ DNA — remember when the Jordan Manila store opened in December last year to much fanfare, in spite of the COVID-19 situation? It seems that nothing can get between Pinoys and their love for basketball, not even a raging pandemic.
While the sport itself was introduced to the country during the American occupation, we have truly made the game our own. Further celebrating basketball’s significance in local culture is this beautifully local take on it by graphic designer and illustrator Raxenne Maniquiz, whose work featuring local flora has earned her recognition and high-profile collaborations with brands such as MAC and Uniqlo.
Raxenne, who also previously worked with Jordan Manila for their opening last year, shared her latest collaboration with the brand on her social media. This series was commissioned for Custom23, Jordan Manila’s customization service, and combines elements of of common, native, and endemic plants in the Philippines.
Raxenne tells Coconuts Manila that the idea for the “plant” Jordans came after she worked on the wallpaper art for the store’s launch last year. “I proposed the idea of a “plant” Air Jordan as one of the concepts for the shirt designs. It was just Air Jordan 1 then. The brand really liked the concept and asked me to expand it to more silhouettes.”
She adds, “My work always had a focus on botanical elements and if I can, I try to inject native and Philippine endemics in my work. To represent the arrival of Jordan in Manila, I combined Philippine native and endemics with Jordan’s most iconic shoes.”
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The series features 4 Air Jordan silhouettes — specifically the Air Jordans I, III, XI, and XII, incorporating a total of 21 native and endemic plants such as saging, alibangbang, bakong, and adlay.
According to Raxenne, the vibrant collection is inspired by the Jordan brand “coming home” to Manila, and “and how Filipino fans all over the country have celebrated this occasion.”
Raxenne’s “Plant Jordans” illustrations are available as merch — get them on a T-shirt at Jordan Manila’s flagship store. Each purchase comes with a drawstring bag that features the artist’s wallpaper art on the cover.
