When we think about the Filipiniana costume, we don’t think about it as a symbolic icon to our culture, but rather it is a reminder of the annual extravaganza : that is the Buwan ng Wika wherein according to a journalist of the Philippine Star, Geolette Esguerra: “We were taught to treat the national garb as a burdensome costume that was stiff and sometimes itchy to wear”. Truth be told, would we even have acquired one had it not been for this said event?
Despite wishing that the masses would follow in the fashion footsteps of the late 7th President Ramon Magsaysay, who proudly preferred to wear the nationalistic barong tagalong rather than succumbing to the trend back then which was the wearing of the “Americana”, the people still tend to regard the Filipiniana costumes as this boring formal events.
To ignite the Filipino pride again, some Filipino designers are trying to merge in the sweet and poised Filipiniana look and a taste of the 21st Century fashion. Designer JC Buendia says that “There would be a sense of renewed patriotism”. Inevitably, there are critics who insist that the Filipiniana costume should remain that way to preserve its conservativeness and our heritage.
(DSPC 2012 Editorial Writing, 1st Place)
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