The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Every piña fiber, abacá, and jusi fabric woven into a barong Filipino carries the struggles of being acknowledged as the Philippine national dress for men. Along with them, the nation’s fight for acceptance and freedom is reflected in patterns drenched in Philippine culture and tradition.
“The barong Filipino overcame many obstacles, the biggest of which is the Filipinos’ own colonial mentality,” said cultural advocate and Gawad CCP awardee Dr. Nicanor Tiongson in his special lecture at Costume Laboratory (COSLAB) 2, the Costume Design and Construction Laboratory for Philippine Theater workshop held last November 17 to 23, at the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde.
Through its Production Design and Technical Services Division, the CCP conducts ladderized workshops and lectures on the national dress with COSLAB. COSLAB started with the Traje de Mestiza from the 1890s to 1920s. COSLAB 2 features the baro – the men’s shirt covering the period 1800s, 1920s and 1970s. COSLAB 2 has invited cultural studies pioneer Dr. Tiongson to share his expertise with budding and experienced Filipino designers.
Bearing witness to centuries of wars and establishment of governments, the barong Filipino is an active character in Philippine history. “There is still a need to write a scientific history of the development of this garment,” Dr. Tiongson explained.
Tiongson, an active member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP) is an authoritative cultural worker who not only promotes Philippine cinema but a conservationist as well of Filipino heritage.
“All in all, the baro has become acceptable to Filipinos because it answers their specific needs. It is theirs, and is indeed a living garment,” he said.
The CCP COSLAB2 was in partnership with SLIM’s Fashion and Arts School – an institution of De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde. It also hosted workshops on pattern-making and basic tailoring facilitated by 2024 Gawad CCP Para sa Sining awardee and TernoCon pillar Gino Gonzales.
Follow the CCP’s official website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph) for future events, workshops, and lectures. For live updates and live streams, you may follow its social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. (excerpt from a Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Corporate Communication’s story).