Captivating designs of Kalinga textiles featured at the Laga Fashion Show

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The Laga fashion show recently illuminated the legacy of Kalinga indigenous textiles on February 14 at Kalinga Sports Center.

The event is predominantly featured every celebration of Kalinga Day. This served as a dynamic platform to spotlight the cultural resonance and artistic originality of Kalinga textiles through a fashion show.

In a phone interview with Provincial Tourism Officer Lorraine Ngao-i, she said that the Laga Fashion Show is geared towards promoting sustainable fashion and advancing the economic well-being of Kalinga weavers.  

“…the main objective is to promote sustainable fashion advocacy to help the weavers economically…This began during the tenure of former Governor [Laurence] Wacnang way back in 1990 or 1992,” she narrated.

At the onset of the journey, the challenge lies in the limited clothing options. But as time goes by, it was enhanced by embracing the latest trends.

At the aforementioned event, 13 designers were catered, comprising 12 local talents and one guest designer, Mr. Erjohn Dela Serna, hailing from Nueva Ecija.

The local designers invited to participate in the Laga Fashion Show are part of the Kalinga Laga organization, established by the Kalinga Tourism Office.

The compositions of this organization are indigenous weavers, artisans, bead makers, and embroiderers.

Membership in the Kalinga Laga Organization is a prerequisite for participation in the show, a measure aimed at strengthening the organization and providing support to its members.

As to the invited guest designer, the tourism officer said this aimed at enticing designers from outside the province to engage in the production of Kalinga textile.

“The objective of inviting a guest is manghikayat ng ibang outsider na designer to produce our Kalinga textile and in the long run, mas dadami ang ating mga sales at it will have an economic impact sa ating mga indigenous artisans,” she explained.

Notably, Dela Serna gained recognition in the province for his preference for Kalinga indigenous textile, despite the abundance of textile choices across the nation. His efforts also extend to advocating for Kalinga textile in national and international beauty pageants.

Models participating, meantime, are chosen according to the preference of the designers.

This deliberate effort aims to expand creativity and foster economic growth of Kalinga artisans. 

Through collaborative endeavors, it is expected that this will lead to increased sales and generate a favorable economic impact for all indigenous artisans involved.