Rhett Eala fuses terno fashion and meditative art

With this year’s collection drawing inspiration from 20th-century Filipino artists whose works have impacted the landscape of Philippine art in remarkable ways, the much-anticipated Ternocon 2025 showcased a fusion of Filipino identity, fashion and art.

The event highlighted the works of 12 talented emerging designers, including a collection by mentor Rhett Eala.

Meditative art in monochrome

Rhett’s collection was a visual tribute as inspired by the masterpieces of national artist Lao Lianben.

Known for his adept use of texture and form, the designer captured Lianben’s pensive and meditative style by employing structured silhouettes with fluid elements to evoke shadows in a monochrome palette.

His collection featured a harmonious blend of organic patterns that moves with motion, bringing tranquility and depth to the design.

Layered shadows and moving lines

The collection was a testament to Rhett’s prodigious ability to fuse art and fashion. Each piece paid homage to a meditative approach of Zen, while exuding refinement, elegance and layered movements in the garments.

As Eala’s art inspiration had been documented to entail layering of different textures to capture the right balance of light, shadow and texture, you can see this echoed in the collections’ play with the layers of fabrics capturing movement with soft tensions and swaying lines.

Watching the models glide along the runway in an array of monochromatic hues, Rhett translated the contemplative and serene Zen art into garments embodying both modernity and tradition, bridging his love for the Terno and the wearability of it for the modern times.

Honoring culture and heritage through fashion

Rhett Eala’s pieces for Ternocon 2025 were an awe-inspiring showcase of painstaking details, from the fabric fringes handcrafted one by one, to the skirt fabric elements attached piece by piece.

The balance of structure layered with fluid elements rendered his pieces easily wearable for today’s fashionable Filipinos -- a key element in preserving the tradition of wearing a Terno.

Audiences were able to envision themselves wearing his designs, nurturing an awareness and reflection that the Terno can be worn not only in formal occasions requiring traditional fashion, but also in the myriad events and functions in our lives.

As the gaze followed his models walking away from the runway dressed in his designs, one is left with a yearning to see it up close to dissect the layered details carefully juxtaposed in each one.

Moreover, a quiet introspection lingered as to how exquisite and distinctly Filipino the Terno is and acknowledging one’s individual role and responsibility on a deeper level of preserving this Philippine cultural icon.