Marvel at the rich, colorful, and versatile looks from the Bench TernoCon
This is an excerpt from MEGA’s May 2023 Main Fashion story.
The TernoCon, a joint project of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Bench, finally returned after a three-year hiatus—this time, they highlighted the Balintawak, the rural parallel of the traditional terno.
As the casual alternative to the terno, the Balintawak is constructed with shorter skirts and butterfly sleeves—aptly worn for outdoor activities and events. The Balintawak is also characterized by its alampay (scarf) and tapiz or sobre falda (overskirt).
According to TernoCon artistic director Gino Gonzalez, Balintawak was the center of the prestigious fashion design convention as it is more toned down and more appropriate for the times.
“It’s primarily a response to the buyers since we’re re-emerging from the pandemic, and in the beginning, there was really no point of doing very formal clothes because there were no events for it,” Gonzales tells MEGA. “Plus, the Balintawak also references the countryside, which a lot of people are pining for these days.”
The stage of the third TernoCon was graced by the collections of 12 finalists from across the Philippines. In the end, three of them were proclaimed as winners: Yssa Inumerable (gold), Gabbie Sarenas (silver), and Glady Rose Pantua (bronze).
SWEET SENSATIONS
Yssa Inumerable might be a neophyte when it comes to competitions, but her flair for showmanship is rightly seasoned. She brought home the Pacita Longos Award for her terno collection that is rich in color, history, and meaning.
The collection took inspiration from Victorian women’s sportswear and illustrator Charles D. Gibson’s pen-and-ink illustration, the Gibson Girl. The Gibson Girl became the ideal fashionable American girl of the late 1890s and early 1900s.
Collection by YSSA INUMERABLE
Fusing two diverse cultures wasn’t the only eye-catching detail in Inumerable’s pieces. Their silhouettes, which are a high-low mix of masculine and feminine, are merged with the traditional design of the Balintawak, making them unique and striking.
With her collection adorned with a myriad of patterns, embroideries, and colors, Innumerable shared that in designing her pieces, she also had versatility in her mind.
“I always design for circularity, basically, clothes that can be reused, recycled, and upcycled, and as much as possible, timeless,” Inumerable says. “That’s why my collection, even if it’s a reminisce of the past, it’s still moving forward to the future for Philippine women.”
Her fabrication, meanwhile, is a combination of the inabel fabric from the Ilocos region and burdang taal from Taal, Batangas.
In choosing the right colors for her pieces, Inumerable reveals, “It was really a challenge because I really wanted a good stage factor for my collection. None of the colors should overpower one another; it still should be a perfect balance.”
Apart from that, the hues had to be a “representation” of the generation today as Innumerable says: “They’re the ones we’re making the designs for.”
While modernizing the terno is a great way to raise awareness of its existence, and ultimately, elevate it to the global scene, Inumerable also believes that there has to be a limit to the changes they can make to the traditional design.
“It’s really important that we put a limit on evolving the terno––updates and changes are welcomed, but they have to be respectful to the traditional design of it,” Inumerable says.
ART OF EXPLORATION
Untried and out-of-the-ordinary––this has always been Gabbie Sarenas’ trademark in all of her creative pursuits, this time, however, she was guided by one fundamental question in her TernoCon designs: “What is needed by a woman––today and tomorrow?”
“So the main idea is to give a new proposition for the Balintawak, while at the same time, holding on to the traditional techniques––it’s very pure yet contemporary,” Sarenas tells MEGA.
Collection by GABBIE SARENAS
With versatility being the goal in her designs, Sarenas sauntered along an unexplored and overlooked boulevard in the fashion world: convertible clothing. Sarenas’ pieces feature reversible skirts and invertible dresses.
“It is still based on the traditional Balintawak but then ‘yun na nga, it separates, reversible and invertible,” the Rizal creative explains. “It is something you would be able to use more than once––not just in one styling.”
Innately innovative, Sarenas also created a new iteration of the traditional inaguas, or the cotton slip underneath the skirt, with pants made out of eyelet fabric from Spain. She also used fabrics piña shifu, piña silk, and dyed silk linen.
Sarenas’s designs are the epitome of a versatile terno that a modern Filipina can wear.
AN ODE TO HOME
Paying homage to the rich cultural heritage of her hometown, Zamboanga, Glady Rose Pantua utilized local textiles and traditional artistry for her interpretation of the Balintawak.
“Zamboanga City is a city renowned for its beauty and commonly referred to as the “City of Flowers,” Pantua shares. “This nickname is a result of the city’s abundant “mestiza” flowers that are found everywhere–and I drew inspiration from this.”
In the first piece, the fabrics used were organza, soft crinoline, and the local hand-woven Yakan fabric adorned with dainty hand-embroidered flowers and butterflies and celadon beads in green and pink hues.
Collection by GLADY ROSE PANTUA
Meanwhile, the fabrication of the second is diamond organza embellished with twist-cut beads, pearls, Swarovski crystals, and florets to resemble Sampaguita flowers.
“I have embroidered the tops with intricate flowers and stems, symbolizing the city’s nickname,” Pantua explains. “ I also used a mix of flowery colors such as pink and green, along with colorful beads, to enhance the beauty of the garment.”
In Pantua’s tapiz, she utilized a brown checkered pattern accented with embroidered Philippine icons which she says creates a “simple yet elegant design that is perfect for any occasion.”
“I wanted to design something that is wearable and fashionable while still celebrating my city’s rich culture.”
GENDERFUL
White dress by BON HANSEN REYES
In combining feminine silhouettes with male elements in his designs, Rizal-based designer Bon Hansen Reyes was able to serve a “genderful” collection—perfect for a modern-day Filipina
White dress by BON HANSEN REYES
LOVE LETTERS
Collection by DEE JAVIER
Through his designs, Dee Javier was able to tell a story of love and loss. Javier’s collection featured embroidered love letters and lines from the Filipino classic tale Florante at Laura by Francisco Balagtas: “The first look is very clean and neat, which portrays the end of love, while the second one is more of a deconstructed look signifying that state when you feel betrayed and destroyed.”
Collection by DEE JAVIER
UNTOLD STORIES
Deconstructed dress by KARL NADALES
Iloilo-based designer Karl Nadales always wondered about the tragic tales behind the bag ladies in his hometown, so for his collection, he created deconstructed pieces of Balintawak to
symbolically lay bare the nature of a bag lady
Deconstructed dress by KARL NADALES
SHAPELESS
Black dress by GEOM HERNANDEZ
Size inclusivity was the underlying principle that guided Geom Hernandez in designing his collection rich in light-weight fabrics, textures, and layers
Black dress by GEOM HERNANDEZ
TO THE BONE
Collection by GLYN ALLEY MAGTIBAY
To somehow help the environment, Glynn Alley Magtibay built her whole collection on the beauty and oddness of discarded X-ray photographic films
A DELICATE THOUGHT
Collection by AMOR ALBANO
Drawing inspiration from the pastillas wrappers, Ilocos Norte-based designer Amor Albano created pieces that are breezy and light, while also evoking imageries of the sampaguita and bukid through layered fabrics
Collection by AMOR ALBANO
GOLDEN HOUR
Sunset ensemble by AL REY ROSANO
Using techniques such as ruching and micro pleating, and fabrics, like milk chiffon and organza in gradient colors, Negros Occidental native Al Rey Rosano served pieces reminiscent of the sunset
Sunset ensemble by AL REY ROSANO
BEAUTY IN DARKNESS
It was horror folklore for Bree Esplanada’s collection, with his dark and edgy pieces embellished with pen-and-ink illustrations
Collection by BREE ESPLANADA
Collection by BREE ESPLANADA
CREATIVE JOURNEY
Iloilo native Marc Cacillar’s collection featured heavy- weight fabrics in his tapiz and alampay to depict the hardships of the creative industry
Dress with black tulle draping by MARC CACILLAR
Dress with black tulle draping by MARC CACILLAR
Creative Direction JONES PALTENG
Fashion Direction RYUJI SHIOMITSU
Beauty Direction MIA CASTRO
Photography JERICK SANCHEZ
Styling NAVZ ABDUJARAK of NEW COLLECTIVE STYLE, assisted by SOFIE CRISTOBAL and RAYA AÑASCO
Makeup VHIO VILLARICA and JR CONSTANTINO
Hair VINCE CUSAY and DEXTER LOPEZ
Models KEN TIANGCO, MARIE ANN UMALI, HANNAH ARNOLD, MAUREEN MONTAGNE, LEILA IBANEZ, JASMINE MAIERHOFER, YAOFA DELA CRUZ, ANDRIANA CORONEL, CHUCEL NJIGHA, and NELLYS PIMENTEL
Sitting Editors BAM ABELLON and MARIAN SAN PEDRO
Fashion Assistant BITHIA REYES
Special thanks to GINO GONZALES, ERIC CRUZ, RENEE MANAY, MARILOU ANSELMO, and CARMENCITA BERNARDO of TERNOCON and CCP, and MAU DE LEON and MIKI MICLAT of MERCATOR
