By ROBERT R. REQUINTINA
Top Filipino fashion designer Renee Salud has said that the critically-acclaimed Mindanao Tapestry fashion show will continue to go around the world to wow other countries of the best Mindanao fabrics.
“Next month sa Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha. In August sa Canada and Italy,” said Salud, during the jampacked and colorful fashion show held at the Marco Polo in Ortigas recently.
The same fashion show will also be staged in Malacanang soon. The team of Salud has just arrived from Germany where the show kicked off its world tour.
It will be recalled that that the Mindanao Tapestry show debuted in January during the 2016 Miss Universe beauty pageant season in the Philippines.
Twenty-nine candidates then of the Miss Universe 2016 beauty contest modeled neo-ethnic fashion of Salud and the Mindanao weavers during an hour-long presentation in Davao City.
“By showcasing the best of Mindanao, the 29 candidates will be let in to a Mindanao that it is rich in culture, beauty and tradition, not a Mindanao that is ridden in strife and conflict as portrayed in media,” said Salud, who conceptualized the Mindanao show in 2016.
Some of the candidates who wore Mindanao fabrics then include delegates from Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Philippines, Russia, Venezuela, USA, Mexico, Paraguay, Netherlands, India, Namibia, Hungary, Ecuador, etc.
Asked what he has achieved so far in staging the fashion show, Salud said: “Actually I was able to achieve what I tried to advocate – to be of help in promoting the Philippine fashion abroad. Modesty aside, I was able to do it.”
Salud also said that the fashion show has received “good reviews and good applause.”
“Ang tela ng Mindanao may sarili siyang character. This show is all about empowerment. So paano natin sila ma-e-empower? Bigyan sila ng magandang trabaho. And what is the best trabaho – the weaving industry,” he said.
When asked what inspired him to come up with the fashion spectacle, Salud said: “I’m inspired to come up with this fashion show because people clamor for it.”
Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo cited Salud and those involved in promoting the Mindanao fashion.
“We at the Department of Tourism take pride in Miss Universe candidates wearing Mindanao fabrics last January. Our efforts must not stop there for interests and appreciation of these world-class fabrics,” said Teo, in a message read by Tourism Undersecretary Kat de Castro.
“Thank you for giving sustainable livelihood for our tribal leaders and promoting for what Mindanao has to offer. I offer my warmest congratulations to Mama Renee Salud, to the organizers and designers, for putting together this very important event,” Teo added.
