KABUTÉ World

Magazine

Jul 23

Accessories, KABUTÉ. Photography Ada Navarro Aguilera.

KABUTÉ is an artistic project founded by Toronto-based stylist, creative, and community incubator Cat Calica that explores hybridity, futurity, ancestorship, immigration identity/cultures, nature and dream worlds with a playful and unapologetic approach.

Text Stephanie Gancayco
Photography Ada Navarro Aguilera
Creative Direction & Styling Cat Calica

From Hella Pinay 04: The Fashion Issue. Get your copy here.

Can you tell me a bit about your creative journey?

I came from a musical family like a typical Filipino family. My papa – who loves theater, singing, OPM, and Bruno Mars – met my mom singing in the choir. My papa really pushed me to explore music and play. Also My Lolas loves fashion and my Daddylolo loves painting and charcoal drawing.

I was always really into textiles and fashion as I was surrounded by clothing due to my mom and my Mommylola who had change/mini stalls of clothing around Quezon City.

My mom always tells this story to my family and friends about my first birthday, but as I could speak by nine months old, I was already choosing my own birthday dress! It was a Belle-like off-the-shoulder dress with white shoulder sleeves and navy and white polka dots.

At age 16, I started my secondhand/vintage clothing brand CVintage, selling 70’s-90’s clothing through my classmates, schoolmates and around Toronto. I created my own photoshoots and styling with my friends. It inspired me to go to school for fashion, but I dropped out after four months. It started my creative journey by interning with some people like fashion designer Pat McDonagh, and then at AHomerun [now based in Manila and called Glorious Dias], a curated vintage shop by Jodinand Aguillon, who became one of my mentors. It felt like I was in a bootcamp; there I really learned that I could play around with textiles as art and fashion, and how to be intentional about curating ideas. Jodi actually introduced me to Kapisanan, a Filipino community arts organization, located below his shop. I learned more about my Filipino culture through the lens of the arts, and what I didn’t have the opportunity to learn since I left the Philippines.

I participated in Kapisanan’s Clutch Arts mentorship program in addition to being part of Hataw, a fusion Filipino folk dance group that celebrated our culture in a way that empowered me to express myself. During our mentorship my fellow Clutch/Nav friends founded a collective called “TAYO.”

TAYO Collective started a DIY arts space with my former collaborator in Kensington Market that centered BIPOC & QTBIPOC creatives and collectives hosting presentations, shows, exhibits, healing circles, workshops and events. Holding the space for three years, I explored working in performing arts, began styling artists, started my brand May.ari and did set design for MVs and short films. Due to the pandemic, I decided to permanently close the DIY space in 2020 and started focusing on working in TV, MVs and commercials in styling/costume design/set design.

In late 2022, I started to play and create for myself and make wearable pieces with the support of my good friend Alexis and creating shoots with my friends. It organically grew to be my new creative child, Kabute (ka-boo-teh). Kabute in Tagalog means ‘mushroom,’ as mycelium and psychedelics have been my inspiration. I started designing more pieces for Kabute by early 2023, and tested it by selling pieces in Canada to see how they interacted. We launched our Mila bow in June 2023. Right now my creative play is Kabute, which has become a full circle from my past creativity all in one.

Why is it important to you to collaborate with mostly BIPOC or Filipinx artists?

For me, in everything I do, I will always prioritize Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, especially Femme-identified folks, Queer folks, Filipinx artists. It is 1000% important to me in every aspect that BIPOC and Queer folks be represented not just onscreen, but in direction, creation and decision-making processes behind-the-scenes in films, TV, music art, politics and fashion. For me it is to tell our stories by us and for us. Be intentional about BIPOC stories, as our ancestors have the same experiences from colonization and survival as we are trying to revitalize our cultures. Collaborating mostly with BIPOC and Queers has made an impact in me being able to understand everyone’s culture and how communities care in each community. To me, supporting each other can be an opportunity to learn and grow in each others’ worlds, centering on being intentional through care.

How have you stayed creative during the past year?

This past year I had a lot of hard changes and griefs, both in my life and globally, and being creative has been one of the main parts of my healing progress and being more at ease. I chose to intentionally launch Kabute’s capsule collection in 2024 to experiment with more designs and play more with my friends. Kabute has been my main resource of play by mixing all the mediums I love and connecting with my spiritual healing practice. I keep creating everyday as ritual practice – drawing, writing, sculpting, styling myself and making collages as part of my healing.

What is your family's migration story from the Philippines to Canada?

I moved with my family – my mom, my father, my baby sister and lil brother – here to Toronto, Canada, in 2005. My parents had an opportunity to let our whole family move to Canada while borrowing money from our family and friends. My mom's third cousin's family took us in and we took over the apartment for a year while their family moved to Alberta. I was 11 years old when we moved here. I had to take care of my younger siblings while my parents worked two to three jobs to sustain our living and more. We didn't have any family here after my mom’s third cousin’s family left, but my parents' old religious community that we were part of from back home connected them to people in the same community here. This has brought us to have a sense of family and friends in Canada; we have lived here for over 16 years and I still call both Turtle Island (also known as Canada) and the Philippines my home.

Where in the Philippines does your heritage draw from?

My mother's family is from Pangasinan, Bicol and Quezon City. My father's family is from La Union and Quezon City.

What's next?

Kabute will be launching a capsule collection this Spring 2024 and a Summer collab collection. Kabute will create and emerge worlds through performance arts, more play, laughs, collaborating with our IRL and internet friends and connecting with our communities. I personally want to keep learning, unlearning, growing, connecting my spiritual work and activism through my creative work.

What makes you Hella Pinay or what does that mean to you?

To me, Hella Pinay means really giving it all with intentions.

From Hella Pinay 04: The Fashion Issue. Get your copy here.

Models Mia and Kikeyah Alina Chavez HMUA Ms. Myles Assistant Styling Toleen Abdulhamid.
Photographed by Ada Navarro Aguilera for Hella Pinay 04: The Fashion Issue - Fall/Winter’24