Manila FAME was founded in 1983 by by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and is one of the longest running trade shows in the Asia-Pacific. Since its founding, the show has been featuring the latest creation and design trends in furniture and furnishings, holiday and gifts and fashion. Through the years, Manila FAME has been nurturing Philippine creative manufacturers and producers and continues to promote them in the global market.

It is the only event in the Philippines approved by the Union des Foires Internationales (UFI), a Paris-based association of trade fair organizers.

In October 2011, Manila FAME and three other major sourcing events in the Philippines -- manila now, CEBUNEXT andBijoux Cebu - merged into a single event in order to bring even more products to more buyers, serve more markets and showcase Philippine design and artistry. The show highlighted products set in a retail concept and developed under three global trends: Naturalist, Mood Indigo and Graffiti. It also featured skilled artisans demonstrating their craft in creating products with the use of indigenous materials such as capiz, buri and rattan.