Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Designers to Watch at Fiber Fashion


Iloilo’s fashion industry is getting big and overflowing with talent that we are always on the lookout for new talent among fashion designers.

The Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair has been an annual launch pad for young talented Ilonggo fashion designers over the past years. As the Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair returns to SM City Iloilo on August 24-26, 2018 at the north wing, here are designers to have on your radar.

DARYL AMAR. This Leon-based designer is known for his sumptuous, yet very elegant designs. Detailed embellishment is something you will see a lot of on his creations and he knows just how to use it without going overboard. On his second year as featured designer for the annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair, Amar is set to feature his collections for Prima, in rich, opulent colors and textures for a woman who likes to make an entrance. Amar is a graduate in Fashion Design and Merchandising at ISAT-University.

MARK ARNEL GACHO. A native of Oton, Iloilo will make his debut with the annual fashion fair showcasing his designs for Preciosa on the opening day on August 24 at 5:30 p.m. Gacho will create an entire collection built around relaxed, low-key dressing. His ability to make casualwear look so effortless, flirty and appeals to the more adventurous fashionistas has been the trademark of his pieces. Gacho earned his degree in Bachelor of Science Major in Medical Laboratory Science at the University of San Agustin in 2016.

KEVIN HIBALLES. From Calinog, Iloilo, the designer will unveil his designs for Hablon Moda on August 25 at 6:30 p.m. For the second time around in this annual fiber fashion fair, the designer will feature his unique and eye-catching pieces with a superb blend of the traditional with the modern and you will not go wrong by having his designs in your wardrobe. The focus of his designs is on wearability and elegance. Hiballes is a graduate in Fashion Design and Merchandising at ISAT-University.

FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA. A native of Leon, Iloilo, will showcase his edgy fashion pieces the second time around for the annual fiber fashion fair with Anyag on August 24 at 6:30 p.m. His solo show will be the perfect time to push his fashion philosophy into the spotlight and display its full range of offerings---fun and feminine incorporated into new shapes and silhouettes. Pamplona is a graduate in Fashion Design and Merchandising at ISAT-University.

The rich and varied traditions of Ilonggo hand-loom textiles  will take centerstage for the 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair opening on August 24 (Friday) and will feature MARC ARNEL GACHO for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG at 6:30 p.m. will have FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA.

August 25 (Saturday) with HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. and KEVIN HIBALLES for HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and closing the event is DARYL AMAR for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is organized by the Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office, Department of Tourism and SM City Iloilo and also brought to you by the municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair: Presenting Iloilo’s Hand-loom Potential




Iloilo has the potential to emerge as a major regional destination for hand-loom and hand-woven textiles and apparels as well as other niche products.  Iloilo produces some of the country’s finest Hablon and Patadyong with well-established and professional clusters and a longstanding tradition of hand-loom weaving.


The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair organized by the Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism, the Department of Tourism Regional Office and SM City Iloilo has brought unique opportunities to explore hand-loom weaving by sourcing in a new and innovative way.  The organizers see this program as potentially an incubator for re-introducing and re-educating the Ilonggos of our local fabrics, finding mainstream consumers that purchase our local fabrics and would like to see that interest extend after the event.


Slowly, Iloilo has emerged favorite domestic and regional destination for handloom and hand-woven textiles and apparels. Homes and innovative weaving centers for spinning and weaving shelters a work force that has been producing fabrics that are highly sought-after.

Though the handloom sector is relatively smaller, in terms of organization and scale, many weaving groups are still challenged by the lack of product design and marketing skills and the lack of access to domestic, regional and international markets. Limited institutional support is also a challenge for some of the groups.

There is a need for our governments to allocate more funds to be used to support existing handloom clusters to enhance their productivity, product quality and design. There is also a need for collaboration with relevant partners, as well as with leading institutions to help weaving provinces and their communities to venture into new markets.


While Iloilo has a strong base of embroidery and beading artisans and painters, boasting of an innovative range of craft and textile-based products with embroidered or beaded surface ornamentation or fabric painting present an opportunity for the development of niche high value products. Enabling value addition would help them to transform Iloilo’s hablon and patadyong into a high-value premium product.

With a renewed emphasis on ethnic chic, the passion and interest nowadays is actually visiting and buying directly from the weavers. Many designers and hand-loom fabric advocates are going to Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Duenas and Igbaras to interact and see weavers at work and have the chance to browse the shelves piled high with colorful neatly folded fabrics that will be turned into fashionable dresses, shawls, table cloths, bed covers and curtains.

The Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is not just a place to market our hand-loomed products, but also a platform to celebrate weaving history in a unique way by showcasing the works of ordinary and extraordinary weavers of Iloilo, promoting the exploration of knowledge and ideas on weaving and providing an avenue for viewing and appreciation.

The 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair will open on August 24 (Friday) and features MARC ARNEL GACHO for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG at 6:30 p.m. will have FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA.

August 25 (Saturday) with HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. and KEVIN HIBALLES for HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and closing the event is DARYL AMAR for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is organized by the Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office, Department of Tourism and SM City Iloilo and also brought to you by the municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.



Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Creative Careers Ahead for Young Ilonggo Fashion Designers



Fashion is a very fast-paced and exciting business, but it is also very competitive. To succeed you will need to be both highly skilled and highly talented.

In Iloilo, there are so many talented fashion designers right now, and it is surely tough to sort through them all. However, nine BS Fashion Design and Merchandising students of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) will prove their claim on the runway for the 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair on August 24 – 26, 2018 at the north wing of SM City Iloilo.

Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra are determined to push their boundaries even further with emphasis on Ilonggo hand-loom fabric’s original quality. Coming from different towns and city in Iloilo, they will be creating their careers ahead with their debut segment Habol Aninipay for this year’s Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair.
These nine student-designers have long dreamt of a career in fashion design. They live and breathe for fashion and textiles. They sew your own designs and keep tabs on what the apparel industry is doing this season.

Fashion design is a very technical field that suits students who are highly creative and full of new ideas, but who are also precise in their sewing and measurements and have good attention to detail.

Their educational background with ISAT-University’s BS Fashion Design and Merchandising has required them with disciplines of traditional design and technical skill sets along with product development, and creative problem solving and commercial application skills.  providing students with a multifaceted educational experience.

The students-designers have developed their personal aesthetics, intellectual, analytical and technological abilities in their degree program of fashion designing and merchandising. Their course provided them with a multifaceted educational experience.

For Habol Aninipay, some of them will incorporate prints by creating simple designs, and others will have sexy but elegant and sophisticated lines. But all of them will focus their attention to details, with great thoughts invested into their designs and finishing of each garment. Now here are nine of the many young Ilonggo Designers fashion designers in Iloilo to watch out for.

The 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair will open on August 24 (Friday) and features MARC ARNEL GACHO for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG at 6:30 p.m. will have FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA.

August 25 (Saturday) with HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. and KEVIN HIBALLES for HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and closing the event is DARYL AMAR for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is organized by the Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office, Department of Tourism and SM City Iloilo and also brought to you by the municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.

Monday, August 13, 2018

Celebrating the 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair




With the aim of preserving our hand-loom weaving as a cultural heritage, the Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism of the Iloilo Provincial Government in collaboration with the Department of Tourism Regional Office and SM City Iloilo will again host the Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair 2018 at the north wing of SM City Iloilo from August 24 – 26.

The Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is a one of a kind event, operating to provide a platform to local designers, weaving communities and entrepreneurs to showcase their collections, hand-loom textiles and hand-loom products emerging in fashion and apparel market.

Now on its 11th year of fashion, exhibition and demonstration, the show will feature the hand-loomed fabrics of Iloilo from the towns of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Duenas and Igbaras. Our handloom fabrics were rooted in Ilonggo culture, it would be a shame to see it gone.

Divided into two different segments daily, the indigenous fiber fashion show has a cohesive theme that annually captivates its audience and local designers wanting to showcase their designs. Every design featured in the show has its own individual look with attention to detail that really makes their collections memorable.

Opening the show on August 24 (Friday) will feature MARC ARNEL GACHO from Botong, Oton, Iloilo for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG, the second show at 6:30 p.m. welcomes FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA of Leon, Iloilo,


 August 25 (Saturday) will have HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. Closing the show on the second day will be KEVIN HIBALES from Calinog, Iloilo with HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

The last day on August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and capping the annual celebration this year is DARYL AMAR of Leon, Iloilo for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

Every one of the featured Ilonggo designers in the last 11 years of fiber fashion created custom handloom wearables, and each piece dress is made here in the heart of Iloilo. Each outfit is made of the highest quality handloom fabric sourced from within the weaving communities in Iloilo. Every designer works at the highest level of professionalism to bring each piece the ultimate collection discovery experience.


The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is also brought to you by The municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.





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