Cebu leads the festival inspiration.
Iloilo won't just take things sitting down without parading their own.
How about going up north for some floral bliss?
Davao is also holding out their festive celebration.
If the ones above are not enough, then why not look at Aliwan Fiesta which consolidates all that the Philippines has to offer?
MPE2011 Athena Imperial's National Costume during ME2011 is also an excellent inspiration.
With more polish in construction, this headdress alone could be an attention-grabbing crown for Miss Philippines.
So with the wealth of inspiration, why are we always stuck with the same old styles and patterns? Could it be due to the constant association with the Filipina terno and Maria Clara? Or maybe because whoever is in-charge just doesn’t look hard enough for several other options that can be fed to the designer, be it here or in Colombia? Or is it also possible that the Madame’s contacts in Bogota are no longer willing to venture beyond their comfort zones to sketch and sew the costume of a candidate living halfway around the world?
The golden salakot can nicely frame our delegate complete with the pintado-inspired get-up that largely differs from what Maricar Balagtas wore back in 2004.
I’ve always said time and again that it is easier (and more convenient) to commission a local designer to come up with the National Costume (even the Evening Gowns) of Miss Philippines. Aside from the physical proximity to the wearer (for fitting purposes), it unleashes the pride of everyone involved and at a tag price that doesn’t even need too much bargaining.
So if the long gowns are non-negotiable for BPCI, then why not give the honor of patriotically designing the traditional attire for the Binibinis to one of our homegrown experts? I’m sure they’d be more than willing to do the job for free – if not a deep cut in what they usually charge.
So many possible sources of ideas for Ara's NC that it'd be a shame to overlook them.
Back to the festivals, I can pull in several options to make a costume that doesn’t only stand out visually, but also carries the true colors of the Filipinos. Mix-and-match, possibly. But I’d rather that we concentrate on one region at a time and move from there. 🙂
P.S. I’m making this post sticky for a few days for quicker (or instant) access of our regulars.
