PRIMA: Miag-ao’s hablon takes centerstage
Mayor Julieta Flores (3rd from left) with
the other members of the Rigodon Group.
In collaboration of Iloilo City and SM City, the PRIMA Fashion Show by the Municipality of Miag-ao last August 16, 2009 in SM City Event Center was a success. The event showcased indigenous Visayan crafts and hand-loomed textiles.
The dresses were modeled by 22 people of Miag-ao who are members of the Rigodon Group. They also used this during the “Semana sang Iloilo” last April 2009 at the Capitol grounds. The show ended by a special participation by the Mayor of Miag-ao, Honorable Julieta Flores.
PRIMA was one of the daily fashion shows featured in SM City Iloilo during the Indigenous Fashion Market Week. This is an annual project of the Iloilo Provincial Government through the Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism with SM City Iloilo.It seeks to preserve and promote indigenous hand-woven textiles used in making hablon, patadyong and pina. The project was organized to promote the fabrics of Panay and provide work to local weavers.
Mayor Julieta Flores (3rd from left) with
the other members of the Rigodon
Group-a.
Interest in the local fabrics was revived and heightened by Manila-based Ilonggo designers, Nono Palmos of Miag-ao and International Lifestyle Designer PJ Aranador of Estancia who used the fabrics in their collections many years ago. The craft of weaving has a long tradition of local patronage and continues to reflect Iloilo’s distinct identity. Although nowadays, most commercial producers of textiles replaced traditional hand-looms with automated weaving machines, this traditional craft of creating colorful fabrics on hand-looms is still practiced today.
Last year, the event organizers with Samsung rewrote fashion history in Iloilo by presenting hand-woven designs and the indigenous look re-created for today’ s trends. The collections of Jaki Penalosa, Bo Parcon, Edz Autencio, Totong Gellangarin and International Lifestyle Designer PJ Aranador hailed a return to classic elegance and classy femininity using hablon, patadyong and pina fabrics.
This year, the Iloilo Provincial Government through its GAD (Gender and Development) donated four hand-looms to weaving communities in Miag-ao and Oton.