When textiles step onto the stage

 When textiles from our communities step onto the stage, they carry more than beauty — they carry stories, heritage, and the hands that made them.

Grateful to Dr. Rina Baluyut Angeles and The Giving Bridge Initiative for the opportunity to bring Mindanao’s living textile traditions to “For the Children,” their very first fundraising benefit concert.

Dr. Rina wore a gown made from contemporary handwoven Maguindanao Inaul, honoring a tradition that continues to evolve through the artistry of our weavers.

For National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab’s Barong, we collaborated with women weavers from Sibagat, Agusan del Sur, developing a textile from pinukpok abaca and embroidering it with a Karanda-inspired motif from the Maguindanao Inaul — a meeting of fibers, cultures, and communities across Mindanao. Many thanks to the women weavers of Sibagat and VM Maria Liza Lamanilao Evangelista.

Projects like this remind us that fashion can be a bridge — connecting artisans, culture, and contemporary expression while creating opportunities for community-based creative enterprises.

Because when we wear our textiles, we wear our stories.

Weaving culture, empowering communities, designing the future.