‘Balik Saya’ celebrates Filipino Creativity, Culture, and Heritage

Rustan’s partners with Intramuros Administration, DOT, National Museum, SoFA, Bayleaf and Ilustrado for this project.

MANILA, Philippines — A tour around Manila’s heritage sites is a walk between the past and the future. Manila is a vibrant, buzzing old city bursting with art, culture, and a deep sense of history. You watch it unfold from a horse-drawn carriage, or even just on a leisurely stroll, inside the Walled City of Intramuros.

Grand winner: Mariah Marella Parayray from St. Scholastica’s College

2nd place: Alaine Isabelle Leones from St. Scholastica’s College

Embracing and cultivating our cultural heritage is an essential part of protecting and preserving our sense of identity, a sense of who we are. With this in mind, the "Balik Saya" was formed by the Intramuros Administration (IA) and Manila’s 5th District Representative Cristal Bagatsing. Headlined by a design competition, Balik Saya encourages aspiring designers to create contemporary designs for the baro’t saya using local materials.

3rd place: Somera Rana from Colegio de San Juan de Letran

4th place: Lou Galang from St. Scholastica’s College

“Balik Saya was initially only intended for the youth,” said Bagatsing. “But there were a lot of queries from seamstresses and out-of-school youth who were interested to join. So we widened the scope from just the youth to everyone residing in Manila’s 5th district. We now champion an advocacy for everyone in the district to further develop their appreciation for cultural heritage.”

5th place: Margaux Gustilo from St. Scholastica’s College

SoFA Choice or the Fashion Visionary Award: Vianka Lorraine Castro from St. Scholastica’s College

Manila’s finest in design and society circles, with members of Congress and Senate, all gathered to witness the culmination of Balik Saya. An architectural masterpiece that houses one-of-a-kind environmental artifacts, the newly opened National Museum of Natural History was the fitting venue to host the design show and competition.

Rustan’s Iconic Award: Rana Vashti Sacramento from St. Scholastica’s College

F.A.B. Choice: Christian Bulasag from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

 “Now you see the beauty of the 5th District which is rich in history, culture and arts — Intramuros, the National Museum, Rizal Park, National Library, so many museums. But behind and outside this beauty there is also a beast, the beast of burden, which is poverty,” said Bagatsing. “Call me idealistic but I truly believe that through promoting my district via tourism I hope to be able to bring more awareness that more jobs can be generated — livelihood, skills enhancement — and can open so many doors to other opportunities. Also because we have a lot of creative talent here that are honorable, and hopefully all this will create more awareness that you do not need to look very far if you really want to help and make a difference and touch people’s lives.”

"Balik Saya" creator, Manila’s 5th District Rep. Cristal Bagatsing with her dad, former Congressman Amado Bagatsing.

Rustan's VP for store development Michael Huang with wife Kathy

Applause came for each creation of the 15 finalists, preceded by the fashion show featuring the capsule collection of fashion designer and project mentor Jojie Lloren. Making the design and competition experience complete and even more memorable for the finalists, the board of judges were Inno Sotto as the head judge, Criselda Lontok, National Museum director Jeremy Barns, Jo-ann Bitagcol, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, Lulu Tan Gan, Rajo Laurel, Randy Ortiz, dean of SoFA Design Institute Tobias Guggenheimer, and Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez.

Rustan’s marketing and communications manager Dina Tantoco and Ricardo Preto

Special awards were given to three finalists namely, FAB Choice Award, SoFA Choice, and Rustan’s Iconic Award. The F.A.B. Choice award was received by Christian Bulasag from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. He received a P100,000 scholarship and was recognized by Fashion+Arts+Business Creatives as having the most potential to be one of the best Filipino designers in the future. The SoFA Choice or the Fashion Visionary Award was rewarded to the creator of the most creative and innovative piece, Vianka Lorraine Castro from St. Scholastica’s College. Lastly, Rana Vashti Sacramento from St. Scholastica’s College accepted her Rustan’s Iconic Award for her creation, seen as the most promising in retail design.

National Museum director Jeremy Barns

Finally, the winners for the Balik Saya design competition were Margaux Gustilo from St. Scholastica’s College (5th place) with P20,000 cash prize; Lou Galang from St. Scholastica’s College (4th place) with P25,000 cash prize; Somera Rana from Colegio de San Juan de Letran (3rd place) with P40,000 cash prize; and Alaine Isabelle Leones from St. Scholastica’s College (2nd place) with P60,000 cash prize. The grand winner who received P100,000 cash prize, an apprenticeship at Rustan’s, and an extensive workshop from SoFA Design Institute, was Mariah Marella Parayray from St. Scholastica’s College.

SoFA Design Institute dean Tobias Guggenheimer, Jo-Ann Bitagcol, Criselda Lontok, Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez, Lulu Tan Gan, and Rajo Laurel

The Balik Saya project is a testament that as long as more designers continue to make the baro’t saya, Filipino tradition and history lives on.

Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez

 Balik Saya is a project of Intramuros Administration (IA) and Manila’s 5th District Representative Cristal Bagatsing, in cooperation with Department of Tourism (DOT), and in partnership with National Museum of the Philippines, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Destileria Limtuaco, Rustan’s, SoFA Design Institute, The Bayleaf Hotels, and Ilustrado.

Inno Sotto