My Work: Gina

I love doing Filipiniana weddings. The terno is the most flattering dress for all Filipinas and I truly believe every Filipina should have one (much like Japanese women should have a formal, traditional kimono and Indian women, their beautiful saris). This is my friend and former co-worker, Gina. She wanted a full Filipiniana wedding. I suggested a terno in pina and silk chiffon for her. This was the very first terno my atelier produced. Yes, this wedding was in 2005, but it looks timeless. That's the beauty of the Filipino dress!

Gina sourced a barong material from her hometown in Batangas. She found this fully embroidered pina fabric that had rows of various callado patterns which looked like lace pieced together. So we cut the fabric on an angle to create a herringbone pattern on the bodice. For the skirt, I did a modern take on the cuchillos pattern found on traditional skirts of the baro't saya, by inserting various lengths of bias cut silk chiffon around the skirt. The effect emphasized her waist as the skirt flared out to the hem all the way to the train. Gina was the perfect Filipiniana bride given her long figure, long neck, broad shoulders and natural skin color.

The entire wedding was delivered in Tagalog. The reception had OPM music throughout the night. And her giveaways had a bag of Barako coffee from Batangas and a bag of raw sugar from Tarlac (her husband's hometown). That was a beautiful touch.