IT’S 2019, but some people still tell women what to wear. This brusque “requirement” was on sordid display on social media during and after the President delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the House of Representatives on July 22.
As women attendees descended on the red carpet and posed for photographs at the plenary hall in their Filipiniana finery, these keyboard “clothing experts” suddenly became conservatives overnight, demanding that women be chaste in their sartorial choices. That, amid their indifference to the misogyny being normalized nowadays.
Men, unbothered by expectations, came in boring barong Tagalog (except for some with exquisite embroidery). Some in suits, like a certain spokesman with a limited fashion vocabulary. Or with venom, such as washed-up actors/wannabe politicians.
The Sona may have mutated into a fashion spectacle like the Met Gala or blockbuster-movie premieres, but the women still treat it with the reverence it deserves. That’s why we don’t tell them, the most powerful women in the country, how to dress.
Too sexy for a senator?
As the author of the Bawal Bastos Law, Sen. Risa Hontiveros would have none of this slut-shaming, especially the ones directed viciously at her. She was captured in a “sexy” pose for a group photo with her fellow senators, and her detractors were scandalized.
“The Dress That Launched A Thousand Tweets. The dress I wore at #SONA2019 is a contemporary piña barong with sleeves patterned after the baro’t saya,” she posted on her Instagram. “I used my old pair of shoes made in Marikina – matibay!”
The modern design is by Joel Acebuche, who said that the piña weave is from Kalibo, Aklan, and the hand embroidery was made by the women of Lumban, Laguna.
What can he say to people who comment that the dress is too sexy for a senator?
“I think the comment is malicious. The dress complies with the dress code of the occasion. The one who posted that comment thought that the senator was not wearing anything underneath because the nude dress is close enough to the color of her skin. That person missed big time on seeing this [detail],” said the designer, who has been creating clothes for Hontiveros since she was an Anakbayan party-list representative.
Representation matters
Bataan First District Rep. Geraldine Roman, one of the few and proud transgender politicians in the world, was glamorous in a Maria Clara by Paul Cabral. It was a (gloomy) Monday but she wore a floor-length, two-toned pink skirt.
Lady Fatima Umpar of the Office of the President and Joanne Roa Sagulay, wearing ternos with ethnic touches by Enan Almando Couture, became badass body-positive poster girls as they sashayed down the red carpet.
Former Senator and current Antique Rep. Loren Legarda was regal in a Michael Leyva ensemble. She wrote on her Instagram: “Walking down the red carpet in this year’s #SONA is extra special for me. I walked down with my head high, proud to bring with me the voice of my people, my kasimanwas.
I’m very proud to wear this stylish magenta #patadyong [rainbow] pants matched with a modern Filipiniana top. Patadyongs are mostly used in making shawls and skirts but you don’t usually see patadyong as pants. This innovative and unique creation was a total head turner. In support for the LGBTs, I am also donning with pride the rainbow pin.”
The ‘terno’ is eternal
The national dress remains the de riguer outfit for the Sona. With only the butterfly sleeves as its only fundamental feature, the terno can be anything its designer wants it to be.
Em Adizas crafted a floor-sweeping green terno from Abel Iloco and pleated crepe in a collaboration with Ilocos Norte First District Rep. Ria Fariñas and daughter Naya to celebrate Ilocano pride; Michael Leyva made an ankle-grazing “pretty lilac drape dress” for model April Tanhueco; and Ivarluski Aseron, showing his technical prowess, created a banig terno for Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar.
It took 30 manual hours for Arcy Gayatin to make a lace-collage terno for Emmarie Ouano-Dizon. “Proud to have represented the Sixth District of Cebu at Sona 2019. Sincere thanks to my good friend, Cebu’s pride, Arcy Gayatin, for her exquisite creation—beautiful, timeless, and utterly comfortable. Many remarked on its artistry and technique, as they always do when I’m wearing an Arcy Gayatin,” enthused Ouano-Dizon, adding, “I first saw Neil Felipp’s one-of-a-kind creations in the movie Crazy Rich Asians. It was exciting to carry a Cebuano designer’s minaudiére for the first time, and at the most illustrious event!”
Randy Ortiz made Leyte Fourth District Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez even more glamorous. “Today was a blue day. I wore a column gown by my forever favorite
@randyortiz in pale blue and lilac overlay piNa with callado and pattern embroidery detail. With it I wore my #ltgxjbdkalachuchi earrings in hand-carved [mother of pearl] with aquamarine centers,” she gushed on Instagram. “The
Kalachuchi is the official flower of Ormoc City, the symbol of a people
resilient, strong, and beautiful even in adversity. I am endlessly happy to
have been able to collaborate with my @julbdizon family for this.”
‘Traje de mestiza’
Another beauty and brain, Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt-Romualdez, dazzled in a Cary Santiago traje de mestiza. “My muse Yedda has been modeling for me even before she became Binibining Pilipinas International 1996. For the Sona, she wore a terno inspired by the old and traditional sleeves. I created my own molder made of wood to achieve the wider and broader sleeves. The dress is distinctively Filipino but the color combination is very Spanish as a tribute to Spain which conquered the country for centuries. The silhouette is very classic with a serpentina cut at the bottom to accentuate the figure,” explains Santiago, the best Filipino designer practicing in the country.
Cocktail/balintawak
The balintawak, a more carefree precursor/variation of the terno more suitable for daytime wear, also made an appearance at the Batasang Pambansa Complex.
Edgar Buyan of Davao City, a staunch proponent of edgy, contemporary clothing with cultural images, made an eye-catching skirt with jeepney images for Daby Bautista, who represented her sister Claudine Bautista, the rep for the Party-list Dumper Philippines Taxi Drivers Association Inc. (Dumper-PTDA). Daby also wore a Filipiniana top by Akmad Kari and carried a Jeepney Clutch by Zarah Juan.
Rajo Laurel possibly made the most outfits for the Sona, including the Villafuertes of CamSur, the Ongs of Samar, Alvarezes of Palawan, Fuentebellas of Bicol and the dashing Dy congressmen of Isabela. For Tootsy Angara, wife and stylist of Senator Sonny, Laurel made a cocktail terno embellished with seed-pearl tambourine medallions and her signature mini-butterfly sleeves.
Viva ethnica
VICE President Leni Robredo and her children Aika, Tricia and Jillian wore ensembles made by the Lamitan City Yakan Weavers in Basilan and weavers in devastated Marawi City. These communities are supported by Angat Buhay, the Veep’s flagship antipoverty initiative that creates projects that help impoverished Filipinos uplift themselves. Aika also wore a necklace made by Agsan Fashion Fern, which sells sustainable fashion pieces handcrafted by indigenous women of Surigao del Sur.
Former President and outgoing House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has dethroned Sen. Nancy Binay (smashing in a Randy Ortiz piña terno with callado cutwork and baroque embroidery details) as the most meme’d attendee of the Sona. She wore a one-shouldered dress in shocking orange, mockingly likened by netizens to the color of a prison garb, by Capampangan designer Philip Torres.
“It was supposed to be red but I suggested orange. I think it’s flattering with her skin tone and she agreed,” Torres said. “It’s inspired by the Aetas. I put red accents and I used the bengala seeds which grow in the Aetas’ village. Then I matched and coordinated the dress with my Pidayit handmade doilies flower components.” Pidayit is a Capampangan term that means an approach to garment production. Its key principle is based on the traditional home economics maxim of zero wastage of materials.
Kaayo Modern Mindanao makes the traditional trendy, the costumey more sophisticated and the ethnic more chic. Former Lanao del Norte Rep. Aliah Dimaporo Cimafranca (who made modest Muslimah more fashionable), Kaayo founder Marga Nograles, socialite Ching Cruz and lawyer Cristine Garcia all wore custom Inaul ball skirts handwoven by Maguindanao women.
She wears the pants
THE most impactful clothes, however, were the ternos paired with trousers. Aika and Tricia Robredo wore the combo, giving the terno a youthful look. Binibining Pilipinas Iloilio 2019 Sigrid Grace Flores looked classy and immaculate in a barong Tagalog she paired with crisp white pants.
Ronaldo Arnaldo made a tailored pantsuit sans butterfly sleeves in ecru silk embroidered with beige solihiya-inspired horizontal panels for Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte: “I actually suggested a pantsuit to her. I believe an event like the Sona requires business-like outfits like suits and not red-carpet gowns.”
Ito Curata made an awesome design for Audrey Tan-Zubiri, fashionable wife of Senator Miguel of Bukidnon: “It’s a terno top in emerald/teal Mikado satin, draped on the bias matched with off-white silk crepe pants. I designed three options and she picked this one.”
After seeing the terno in all its permutations—albeit in sedate, understated and dignified designs, nothing outlandish in deference to the occasion—it was so refreshing to see the fashion-forward yet tradition-bound ensemble worn by Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco.
The terno jacket and pants were creations by Len Cabili of Filip+Inna, a brand at the forefront of making Filipiniana more accessible. “The Pakudos embroidery on this terno ensemble was hand-embroidered by the Mangyan of Mindoro,” Cabili, who hails from Iligan City, explained. “Coined from the Spanish word Cruz, the embroidery pattern is believed to ward off evil spirits.”
Christina was with her husband Duke Frasco to attend his first Sona as congressman of the Fifth District of Cebu. “I wanted to wear something that had a meaningful connection to Liloan and Cebu, while also giving tribute to our country’s rich culture and talented artisans,” Christina wrote on her Instagram. “And so for my Terno, I turned to @filipinna and @lencabili whose father, Camilo Pepito Cabili, proudly hails from Liloan. My minaudiere is proudly made in Cebu by @neilfelipp. I am honored to wear such pieces of Filipino art, and to represent Liloan on this historic day.”
Image credits: Photos by Nonoy Lacza and from Instagram Accounts of Frasco, Fariñas, Torres and Zubiri