Aklan Piña Cajoles French Fashion Designer

by Megs S. Lunn

(seated l to r) Ms. Anna India Legaspi (Aklan Piña Mantra), Ms. Ruby Roa - president HABI Phils., Ms. Lulu Tan-Gan - Phil. fashion icon, Maria Jinky Troesch, Mr. Marc Mikulaniec - French fashion expert, and Ma. Lourdes Locsin. (standing l to r) Ms. Megs Lunn - APCI Pres., Ms. Rea Rose Marte - LGU Kalibo Municipal Tourism Officer, Ms. Roselle Q. Ruiz - Provincial Tourism Officer, Joy Evangelista Adarme, Jimpee Madarat, Ms. Erlinda F-Q Wilson - NVC Executive Dean, Ms. Monseratt David and Dr. Ambrosio R. Villorente.  

The French Embassy and DFW (Designer Fashion Workshop), with HABI (Textile Council) are collaborating to promote Aklan’s indigenous materials. Just recently, the group of Ms. Lulu Tan-Gan, the country’s renowned Fashion Icon and of Tan-Gan Atelier Company, with Ms. Ruby Roa, President of HABI in the Philippines, together with  Mr. Marc Mikulaniec and five others were in Aklan to visit piña plantation and experience the spinning and weaving processes of our world renowned Pina Fiber in Aklan.

The Aklan Provincial Tourism Council and Kalibo Municipal Tourism Office through the office Governor Carlito S. Marquez and Kalibo Mayor William S. Lachica welcome the guests and guided them in their visit. They visited Aklan as part of their effort to promote the Philippines’ natural resources and textile. Together, they created awareness and motivated the Aklanons to improve their design, textile quality, garment, garment service and retail sectors in fashion industry.

Mr. Marc Mikulaniec of Alliance Francaise de Manille and the French Textile Expert from Lilles, a city in northern France, is known for its textile industry business. He is in Manila to provide inputs on textile industry. The group of HABI previously sent him materials to have him assess and find the possibilities to make it more relevant to modern wear, without destroying its original and delicate beauty. 

There is an on-going Textile Texture Development Workshop Programme in Manila which is open to all students and indigenous-enthusiasts. The forum is for free. Prior to his Manila stint, he was scheduled to visit Aklan. According to Ms. Ruby Roa, between the Abaca and Pina, Mr. Mikulaniec favors Piña fiber of Aklan to showcase its storyline and to highlight its importance and beauty in the world of fashion. 

The group led by Ms. Ruby Roa paid a courtesy call to Governor Carlito S. Marquez and to Kalibo Mayor William S. Lachia. Provincial Tourism Officer Ms. Roselle Q. Ruiz and Kalibo Municipal Tourism Officer Rhea Rose M. Meren accompanied them to the piña weaving projects and to display stores to familiarize the guests on the piña and other fiber industries in Aklan.

They visited Racquel Eliserio’s Pina Fiber Weaving Center, Brgy. Feliciano, Balete; Piña cloth weaving, warping, knotting and other procedures with Heritage Arts and Crafts, Pina Fiber weaving with La Herminia Pina Weaving Industry. They purchased Aklan products and souvenirs at the Dela Cruz House of Pina, Rosa Foods, the Kalibo Public Market and the Aklan Piña Mantra. 

Mr. Marc Mikulaniec and company were welcomed by Ms. Anna India Legaspi of the Heritage Arts and Crafts and the Aklan Pina Mantra local manufacturers and weavers. They also visited the famous Kalibo Bakhawan Eco-Park and Piña Village in Brgy. New Buswang, Kalibo, Aklan. After their visit, the group looks forward to promote the piña cloth in the French market. 

“It is our desire to showcase a storyline about the Pina Fiber of Aklan so that it can be presented well as an amazing handwoven fiber industry only unique in the Philippines,” Ms. Ruby Roa said. “We are looking at the pina cloth if it is possible that it doesn’t shrink, machine washable and could be iron,” she added.

Ms. Lulu Tan-Gan was very positive to help promote Aklan’s Pina because of its unique creation and where locals can produce its item of beauty and integrity given its limited financial resources. “We want to prove that it’s not just for special Filipiniana events,” says Tan-Gan. We want to promote it to make it relevant, to be used as an apparel accessory, like a vest or a  scarf, to be worn over a garment, to be worn with denim and in a variety of colors. We want piña to be accessible,” added Tan-Gan. /MP