Happy Island Fashion Statements

Where does fashion figure in your order of priorities? Is it, like in my jaded case, somewhere near the bottom? If so, join me this once: let’s take a step back and look at it from a different perspective. Perhaps, fashion is not just a trendy and fleeting subject after all.

I visited Catanduanes, my home province in Bicol, late last month to attend to some family interests. One task led me to the provincial capitol, where I was greeted by a showcase of formal wear that turned out to be especially designed for candidates of the Ginoong Catandungan and Binibining Catandungan 2023. The two searches were among the events that highlighted the 78^th Founding Anniversary of Catanduanes, now tagged as ‘The Happy Island’ after being known as ‘Land of the Howling Winds’ for quite some time. The outfits were put together for public viewing, days prior to the hosting of the pageants on October 21 and 22, 2023.

At first blush, the array struck me as nothing short of glitz, meant to enhance the candidates’ self-esteem and confidence while dazzling the audience with all those sparkly ‘borloloys’ or embellishments. I’m glad I decided to take a closer look; each creation came with a description of the design, the name of the designer, and details covering the design inspiration.

Given a proper venue and purpose, fashion, I now agree, can bear great significance. Many of the creations on display at the lobby reflected the traditions and cultural ethos of the different municipalites of Catanduanes. They highlighted the essence of how Catandunganons want to be perceived by the outside world.

I was pressed for time and could not take photos of all the displayed pieces, but here are some of them – starting off with the stylized Barong Filipino designed for the Ginoong Catandungan contestants representing the different municipalities of the Happy Island:

This design uses the abaca pinukpok fiber produced in Baras to honor the abaca farmers of Catanduanes, which is hailed as the Abaca Capital of the Philippines.

This ‘UMASILHAG’ creation for the Gigmoto candidate is in recognition of the island’s silent heroes: the para-UMA (farmers), para-SILA (fishermen), and paraHAG-ot (abaca strippers). The carabao-inspired back accent is a tribute to their hard work and perseverance, while the loincloth is an ode to tradition and ethnicity.

This design for the San Andres (former Calolbon) contestant features an image of Our Lady of Sorrows painted at the back. The religious icon is believed to be miraculous and draws droves of visitors to the Batong Paloway chapel where it is consecrated. The stylized ‘salakot’ or ‘calo’ is a symbol of the unity that binds Calolbonganons, which is celebrated annually during the Buruniyogan sa Calo Festival in November.

The gowns for the Binibining Catandungan contestants turned out to be variations on a theme: the color purple, diamond patterns, beads and crystals, flowing lines, high slits – were variably used to depict courage, power, resilience, and similar strengths that define Catandunganon women in these challenging times.

On pageant night, team San Andres bagged the Best Designer award for this creative rendition by Calolbonganon designer Mikko Dolores for Ms. Rheana Rose Chavez.

I dare say that the inspiration for the gown – with its call for women like Rheana “to make unpopular decisions, challenge the system, and write new narratives” is a true winner!

Here’s to fashion as a celebration of creativity, substance, and relevance!