The Terno

CEBU, Philippines - Identified as a serpentina gown (also referred to as “mermaid gown”), historians have long characterized the terno as an updated variation of the “baro at saya”,  also known as the “Maria Clara gown”, named after Maria Clara, one of the characters in Jose Rizal’s “Noli me Tangere”.

The “baro at saya” which became popular in the Spanish Period is a four-piece ensemble of  a collarless chemise called the “camisa”, a floor length skirt called the “saya”, a neck accent piece/covering which can also function as a veil called the “pañuelo”, and a knee-length over-skirt called the “tapis.”

In the early 1940s, Ramon Valera (August 31, 1912-May 25, 1972) unified the components of the “baro at saya” into a single dress – with exaggerated bell sleeves, cinched at the waist and grazing the ankle. His design did away with the “pañuelo” and used zippers instead of hooks – an innovation considered a radical shift in standards at the time.

But of all the innovations that Valera implemented in his design, which also included intricate beadwork and appliques, it’s the bell sleeves that became the terno’s defining feature.

Valera was credited for giving the country “its visual icon to the world” via the terno. He was conferred the National Artist award in 2006. (FREEMAN NEWS)