There are unlikely groups of people that speak volumes for the love of Philippine fabrics and textile. Boy groups have often been looked at as mainstream fare, with their pop sounds finding patronage among the young and impressionable. These well-dressed dancing and singing acts, however, have lately spoken well for a sector that has been struggling to find its voice and presence in the mainstream market.
SB19 and Alamat are two of the top boy groups in the country. These sing-and-dance groups have caused the resurgence of Pinoy pop (P-pop).
One noticeable impression these groups give is their patronage of Philippine fabric and textiles.
The eight-piece group Alamat, for instance, wears modern and fashionably cut tops and pants in their debut music video “kbye.”
Their colorful outfits were incorporated or used Philippine fabric like Valfer’s top that features the Ilonggo weave Hablon, which is the same material of the alampay, worn by graduates of the University of the Philippines. Another member, Taneo, is seen wearing a woven fabric with the batuk print from his native Kalinga. Philippine accessories and headgears were also worn by the members in the video.
Alamat also promotes Philippine languages. Its members come from different ethnolinguistic groups and most of their songs feature their languages, namely, Tagalog, Ilocano, Waray-Waray, Bicolano, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, and Bisaya.
SB19, who is slowly making its name in the global scene, especially after its nomination for Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards this year, was also seen wearing Filipino textiles at last year’s Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival held at the National Museum of the Philippines and Luneta Park.
They wore pieces from Cebu-based fashion brand Balik Batik. The five-member group wore three different handwoven fabrics, namely, pisyabit from the Tausug ethnic group of Sulu, yakan from Basilan, and inaul from Maguindanao.
Veronica Baguio, founder/owner of Balik Batik, shares to Tony&Nick how their collaboration with SB19 happened.
“We believe it started on Twitter. Fans of SB19 were following our account, and some would mention how nice it would be to see the group wear traditional handwoven fabrics. Of course, we loved the idea as well. There were even some fan-made edits of SB19 wearing our pieces!” she said.
Baguio added that as a small, young business they were hopeful, but were not sure how to make the collaboration happen until they received a message.
“We got a message asking us about custom pieces for a boy group, and we were very game. We later found out it was SB19! We were very surprised and ecstatic about it,” she recalled.
Balik Batik is a social enterprise that sources its handwoven fabrics from different partner indigenous groups and weaving communities all over the Philippines. In Luzon, it has partnered with the Itneg, Igorot, Kalinga and Gaddang communities. Its partners in Mindanao are the T’boli, Maranao, Yakan, Tausug and Iranun weavers. In Visayas, it sources its materials from weavers in Argao, Cebu.
Some of its pieces are designed and created by partner artisans, especially the pieces that are more traditional in design. The pieces with more modern designs are by Bong Maramba and Rosalie Wong.
Balik Batik has become popular across most age groups. Baguio said that their bomber jackets and denim jackets incorporated with Philippine fabrics are popular with the young ones while their blazers are preferred by older clients since those are easy to wear. She also noticed queries from Filipinos abroad regarding their eye-catching and detailed clothing line.
“These P-pop groups have increased awareness of handwoven fabrics here in the Philippines, especially among young people. Their massive reach, especially to the youth, allows them to put a spotlight on the outfits they wear, especially when it features Filipino handwoven fabrics. For us, we were also able to show what innovations we can do with the handwoven fabrics through the pieces we have created for P-pop groups,” she said.
In his YouTube commentary, Filipino public historian Xiao Chua remarked on Alamat’s outfits on their “kbye” music video.
“’Pag nakita natin ang costumes ng Alamat, nakakatuwa kasi, una, very inclusive. May nirerepresent sila na distinct, iba-ibang unique culture na nasa Pilipinas. Again, pinapakita dito na hindi homogenous ang Pilipinas, hindi pare-pareho ang mga Filipino. May uniqueness. Ano ba yung nagba-bind sa atin? So ‘yun ‘yung pinapakita sa atin. ‘Yung inclusivity ng Alamat. (The costumes of Alamat are very inclusive. They represent the distinct, unique cultures in the Philippines. It goes to show that the Philippines is not homogenous. There’s uniqueness to us. What binds us? Alamat shows us inclusivity through their costumes),” Chua explained.