Lulu Tan-Gan, the first female designer featured at the charity gala, highlighted Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao through local materials and the artistry of communities
The Red Charity Gala commemorated its 14th anniversary with style, purpose, and the glimmer of three islands. This charity event, founded in 2009 by philanthropists Tessa Prieto and Kaye Tinga, has served as a platform for Filipino designers to showcase their artistry as they combine couture with charity causes. From Michael Cinco to Ivarluski Aseron, the Red Charity Gala has been an attraction of talent since it began. This year, Lulu Tan-Gan made the distinction as the first female designer to be spotlighted.
RELATED: Ivar Aseron’s Collection for the Red Charity Gala is A Memoir in Motion
Heritage and Heart
The auction, held for the benefit of the Hope for Lupus Foundation, Philippine Red Cross, and Assumption High School Batch 1981 Foundation, kept the evening’s charitable pulse alive. Attendees bid on artwork by Ryan Villamael and Angelito Antonio, luxury getaways at Shangri-La hotels across Asia, and even prime health packages and glittering jewelry from Diagold and Jewelmer. The room buzzed with generous bids, ultimately raising an impressive PHP 5.25 million in the process.
Tan-Gan’s collection traced a cultural arc across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Known as the “Queen of Knits”, she took a swerve from her signature, featuring the piña fabric, crafted with a vision she calls “Farm to Fashion”. This wasn’t a change of medium, but a conversation with the land and its people, an invitation to see the value in local materials and the hands that work them.
Three Lands, One People
With a collection that brought together the Kalinga prints of Luzon, Mandaya weaves of Mindanao, and piña from the Visayas, Tan-Gan’s pieces gave attention to each island’s heritage. The garments took shape in boleros, caftans, and capes, crafted to be elegant and unmistakably Filipino. But beyond their beauty, these pieces carried an understated message: Filipino fashion need not look outward for inspiration when the most powerful expressions of identity lie within.
Tan-Gan’s approach to “Farm-to-Fashion” reshapes how we think about clothing. Instead, it’s a work that’s grounded and rooted in a commitment to natural processes that respect both the land and the community. She advocates for a shift in thinking. In an interview, she said, “I would like to promote the natural process of creating fashion, which is from sourcing our raw materials to the dyeing, aside from doing manipulation of the material.”
She continued, “If you go sustainable, you would eventually extend your work to the communities which I think we have so much talent in the country, and it just needs support from designers, entrepreneurs, and business people who will maximize the resources that we have.” Her work calls for a return to basics—not in style but in purpose, creating a line where the process matters as much as the result, imbued with purpose, passion, and pride.
This year’s Red Charity Gala felt more like sacred ground than a runway. Lulu Tan-Gan’s collection informed us that farm-to-fashion is an affirmation of belonging, a call for appreciation of the land that feeds us, and a way to promote the places and people who support this talent. Her collection explored how Filipino fashion can withstand an abundance of tradition while continuing to convey the strength, grace, and calm innocence that Filipino society has valued.
Photos: MINT COLLEGE (@mint_stagram)
