At the Sona, wear your culture—and comfort
There were two things that seemed particularly important to attendees of this year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona): culture and comfort.
For Kusug Tausug Rep. Shernee Tan-Tambut, who sparkled in a Francis Libiran creation, her batawi pantsuit represented her constituents. Wearing the native formal attire of Tausug women to the Sona was her way of saying that “Sulu has come so far and we are ready for the world, we are ready for investors, we are ready for tourists and this is our way of welcoming the whole Philippines to Sulu.”
She added, “It’s not just about fashion. For district representatives and party list representatives, when we wear something like this, it’s our way of showing the cultures of our provinces. Like me, my province is Sulu. We’re called Tausug. And this is my way of showing our culture. Where else am I going to wear this? Itodo na!”
Sen. Loren Legarda opened her baul and put her expansive piña fabric collection—and her trust—in Puey Quiñones’ deft hands for her Sona look. Different piña fabrics layered together created a beautiful mishmash of textures that breathed fresh air into the old textiles.
“I proudly wear piña because it is an intangible cultural heritage in Unesco,” said Legarda. “I’ve been collecting piña from the time of my mother. It looks like [Puey] layered my collection one on top of the other. So creative!”
Created by Jo Rubio, Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna’s ensemble had gold and pearl details, inspired by the Filipino Chinese who are the original merchants of Binondo. While she doesn’t give much importance to fashion during Sona, she agreed that “it showcases all our very, very good fashion designers here in the Philippines.”
Promoting piña
Sen. Nancy Binay’s Randy Ortiz gown said so much in its elegance: It also promoted the piña fabric, which is now part of Unesco World Heritage, and the rice beadwork subtly highlighted our nation’s current problem with rice.
For Binay, fashion plays a big role in Sona. “Fashion is an industry. There are farmers who plant the piña. They harvest it, and then another group does the weaving, and another does the embroidery. So it’s an industry, it’s a sustainable type of industry and it reaches the grassroots.”
Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang’s entire family wore creations by the hand weavers of Lubuagan. “(Fashion’s role in the Sona) is very important because everyone would like to promote their own locally made products,” he told Lifestyle.
PBA partylist Rep. Margarita Nograles and Davao Oriental Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario from Mindanao both rocked Louver del Castillo designs, putting a “tribal” twist to their modern outfits.
For Almario, their matching ensemble formed a connection to their heritage. “It really showcases us from Mindanao, from the Davao region,” said Nograles.
Emphasizing that Sona is not a fashion show, Nograles nevertheless said that it’s a way to express oneself. “It expresses our style and our heritage. It’s something to showcase what you are proud of, since we hail from Mindanao. We can show where we came from in a way that people will see, that it’s possible to do that. We can change things up a bit to show our personality as well.”
Comfortable
The best thing about Quezon City Councilor Aiko Melendez’s black-and-white Marlon Tuazon was that it was comfortable, she said.
“I just wanted to keep it simple and classy,” she said. “I think this is the only day where Filipino ternos are being displayed. It can showcase the greatness of our Filipino designers.
“And it’s comfortable,” she added. “So when I sit down, I won’t have a hard time.”
The same could be said of Sen. Grace Poe’s immaculate white terno. She laughingly said her favorite thing about her gown was that it was comfortable and simple.
“More than anything, we were also highlighting the talents of our local couture industry as well as the materials from the Philippines,” Poe said. “We don’t need to be too extravagant. It should be just right.”
Created by Paul Cabral, the beadwork on Poe’s gown resembled leaves.
“Every time we have a Sona, we’re turning a new leaf,” Poe said. “We’re more hopeful, and hopefully, we’ll be more inspired then we’ll be able to move forward.”
