Terno’s revival

LUCY Torres Gomez in Randy Ortiz. terno.

As popularized by former First Lady Imelda Marcos, the terno — a dress with the distinctive butterfly sleeves — is back in fashion with the help of celebrities who are increasingly choosing to wear the iconic traditional dress. Whether in beauty pageants, product launches or movie premieres, these public figures are more than proud to wear the terno that is usually made from local textiles.

There are also campaigns spearheaded by brands to help revive the once dying craft.

In celebration of the TV network’s 65th year in business, this year’s 2019 ABS-CBN Ball (formerly The Star Magic Ball) chose the theme, Modern Filipiniana, bringing together top stars, stylists and fashion designers in the country. The network’s stars, dressed to the nines in their national costumes with a modern twist, had everyone watching.

Showing how impactful and relevant our indigenous tribes’ weaves and textiles from the three Philippine islands are, 93 designers gathered together for a two-day fashion extravaganza called the Philippine Fashion Revolution. They showcased how indigenous fabrics can be worn not only during formal events but also on the daily. The designers also proved that when given enough importance, it would be easy to acquire these types of fabric which they then incorporated into their modernized designs.

Marian Rivera donning a Kandama woven Filipiniana.

This year, the Katutubo PH trunk show was held at the Bench Towers in BGC with founder, Mons Romulo-Tantoco gathering some of the country’s top designers Patis Tesoro, Lulu Tan-Gan, Anne Marie Saguil (Amarie), Bea Constantino (Herman & Co.), Gabbie Sarenas, Ken Samudio (Matthew & Melka), Len Cabili (Filip + Inna), Mandy de la Rama, Marga Nograles (Kaayo), Mich Dulce, Paloma Urquijo Zobel (PIOPIO), Techie Hagedorn (Alegre), Tim Tam Ong and Zarah Juan to showcase traditional yet modern usage of indigenous materials.

To help preserve authentic Filipino fashion, Bench in partnership with CCP annually holds Ternocon, a large terno making convention and contest attended by select participants from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Due to the success of its first edition in 2018, Ternocon will be holding its second convention on 26 January 2020.

It seems the terno will continue to turn heads in 2020.