DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – In an effort to make local products globally competitive, the Department of Trade and Industry in Negros Oriental recently initiated a talk with a top designer for a promising partnership.
DTI Provincial Director Jhong Fortunato told The FREEMAN that they have been planning to talk with the famous Negrense designer Amir Sali Aluk to help redesign woven Pandan bags made by local craftsmen from the first district of the province.
Fortunato said that as the agency tasked at evaluating the marketability of local products, DTI also helps look for ways to upgrade the skills of local artisans.
“They need a lot of ideas and inputs on what the market wants in order to sell,” he said.
He added that although local products are doing well in the local market there is a need for it to go global “if you want a better sales margin.”
Amir Sali expressed his enthusiasm on the partnership.
“This is the first government partnership that I will be entering into,” he told The FREEMAN in Cebuano.
“I haven’t tried serving the places where I’m from like Jolo and my second home, Negros. It’s been a long time since I left Negros,” he said.
“There are a lot of talented artists in Negros,” he said, adding, “This is the time for Dumaguete to be identified for high end products and not just for native and souvenir items.”
“Its about time for our local artists to start thinking of doing something in Dumaguete and not just hope to make it big in Manila,” he said.
He shared that what the local artists could do is to transform native designs into products with an edgy look.
Amir Sali said that with this he is willing to share his expertise to ensure that the products produced in the province will be saleable among the world’s elite.
As of press time, details of the partnership are still to be ironed out.
Amir Sali is considered as the fashion world’s Prince of Beads. He is known to have designed gowns for Hollywood stars like Halle Berry and Shakira, and have worked with big names in the industry like Valentino. (THE FREEMAN)