Mindanao's finest collection

MANILA, Philippines – The Metropolitan Museum of Manila, together with the Filipino Heritage Festival, presents the exhibit Gayak Mindanao: Fashioning a Rich Heritage, which showcases different haute couture that are Mindanao inspired. It also flaunts the different pieces that make Mindanao a unique haven for arts and culture.

When we talk about traditional fashion in the Philippines two things come to mind, the barong tagalong and the baro’t saya. Barong tagalog is an embroidered formal garment and is very lightweight and worn untucked over an undershirt. It is a common wedding and formal attire for Filipino men as well as women.

While baro’t saya is an indigenous dress of the natives of the Philippines and was influenced during the Spanish Colonization of the archipelago. From the original, half-naked style consisting of only the tapis or wrap-around skirt covering the lower half of the body, the bare upper torso was gradually covered with a short-sleeved, collarless blouse called baro.

This exhibit is top billed by one of the progenitors of the Philippine Couture Association and once the president of the said association, Ben Farrales, as well as some young designers. Ben Farrales is most known for highlighting elegant classicism in his designs. He draws inspiration from the malong, which is a popular Mindanao piece of clothing. He was able to evolve the terno and barong tagalog with Muslim touches, enhanced such local fabrics as hablon, piña, and jusi to fit the western mode, and explored chiffon, silk and taffeta with innovative Filipino versions.

Truly fashion breaks boundaries. This would be evident through this exhibition, with over 20-plus fashion pieces to salivate over. So why settle for the traditional if we could have a mix of old and new, and oriental and occidental? Truly we could experience the best of both worlds in one place; this is what this exhibition is all about.

GAYAK runs until June 6 at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Roxas Boulevard), open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. www.metmuseum.ph.