TABUK CITY, Kalinga (PIA) – The beauty of Kalinga woven textiles and the creativity and innovation of local designers was spotlighted in the Laga Fashion Show 2025 held on Feb. 13, 2025 at the Capitol plaza park.
A highlight of this year’s Bodong Festival, the fashion event featured the collections of 15 established local designers with more than 300 models strutting the runway to show off different collections of modern attire incorporating Kalinga textiles.
The show is an annual showcase to uphold Kalinga’s weaving tradition and promote weavers, designers, and shop owners.
It’s also an economic activity to support the industry and encourage the younger generation to take up weaving, said Laga Fashion Show committee chairperson Lorraine Ngao-i.
“It’s not just a fashion show kung saan usually ‘yung designer ang nagbabayad sa model but it’s the other way around, because what we are promoting here is the Kalinga culture of weaving,” Ngao-i said, explaining that the models bought the clothes they wore on the runway.
“Eto ‘yung tamang venue para ma-promote ang trabaho ng mga weavers para mas lalo silang gaganahan or magkaka-interest ‘yung mga younger generations to learn how to weave kasi pag nalaman nila na ‘o, wala naman income diyan’ ‘yun ‘yung isang reason bakit nawawala ang isang tradition. So, this is the perfect venue to promote our weaving industry,” she added.
Among the shops that showcased their designs were Kinwa Etnika Handicrafts, Balik Tribo Arts and Crafts Manufacturing, Rovie’s Kalinga Products, Kurt’s Ethnic Handicrafts, Nessaj’s Handicrafts and Pasalubong Products, Rycy Ethnic Fashion Designing, Caroline’s Ethnic and Fashion, JG Salon, Cassidy Designs Handmade Arts and Crafts, Glam Garden Collections, CJ Designers Fashion Boutique, Taitana’s Dress Shop & Kalinga Woven Products, Cultura de Kalinga Fashion Boutique, Masalingga Musical Instruments & Handicrafts, and Tribu Bullz Fashion Shop.
Special segments
One of the special segments of the Laga Fashion Show was a tribute to the founder and pioneers for their contributions in promoting the weaving industry.
Another highlight was the runway walk of special guest model Cynthia Ruth Somera, who recently made history as the first Kalinga model to grace the pages of Vogue Philippines.
Somera wore a dress created by Joon Teckney Ascaño, a local designer and the official choreographer of the Laga Fashion Show 2025.
The Laga Fashion Show was conceived in 1992 by the Kalinga Special Development Authority under then Executive Director Samuel Bayangan and Naty Sugguiyao, chief of the Field Operation Division.
The show was supported by the Department of Trade Industry that provided weavers access to loans to boost their production. (JDP/IOS-PIA CAR, Kalinga)
