Philippines textiles take spotlight at fashion conference

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s top fashion designers, as well as up-and-coming stylists and student designers, have risen to the challenge of designing chic, hip and fashionable creations made from Philippine textiles, in a fashion event that served as highlight of the Philippine Textile Industry Stakeholders’ Conference at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City yesterday.

Organized by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute, the event was a successful collaborative partnership between the DOST-PTRI and the Philippine fashion industry in support of the country’s textiles.

A highlight of the fashion show was the modeling of the uniforms by Pablo Cabahug for the House of Representatives, JC Buendia for the National Economic and Development Authority, Kingsmen for DOST, Jor-El Espina for University of the Philippines and Albert Andrada for the Civil Service Commission.

“The beautiful dresses and fashion items showcased in the Philippine Tropical Fabrics celebration organized by DOST-PTRI highlights the amazing products that can result (from) collaborative efforts (of) DOST researchers, stakeholders from the industry and communities.?Congratulations to the designers who utilized Philippine tropical fabrics to create the beautiful dresses and wearables, and to the DOST-PTRI and partner weavers for the innovative fabrics,” Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. told The STAR.

The PTRI has recently issued a challenge to the country’s fashion industry to come up with designs for uniforms of government officials and employees using Filipino-made textile fibers from pineapple leaf, abaca, banana and Philippine silk.

“Innovation powers the future of the textile industry. We hope to continuously empower our farmers, community weavers and small businesses who are an integral part of the value chain through S&T programs and projects. The blended textiles made from locally sourced fibers is an illustration on the ability of science to contribute to national economic progress,” he added.

The institute is tasked to create and innovate textiles and auxiliaries in support of the industry. Hinged on the requirement of Republic Act 9242, PTRI has developed yarns and textiles since 2005. These are yarns containing at least 20 percent pineapple, banana or abaca fibers in blend with polyester, woven in the mill with polyester warp, effectively meeting the five percent by weight minimum natural textile fiber requirement in the fabric stage.

Another significant textile technology is the development of Philippine Silk. DOST invested in a Silk Research and Innovation Hub in Misamis Oriental. To keep Philippine silk cost competitive, DOST developed a process to generate seven kg of raw silk per day, requiring 15 hectares of mulberry farm providing additional income of P16,000 per month to almost 60 families with at least one-eighth hectare farm. Also, the Silk Innovation Hub in Kalinga serves the silk production in Cordillera and in 2023 two more will be launched – in Aklan and in Negros Occidental.

DOST has also sustained a genomic project to maintain the productivity and vigor of the largest silkworm germplasm in the Philippines. Through these efforts, natural textiles have expanded from wearable items to nonwoven applications for filtration and automotive, bags and footwear through drylaid textiles under nonwoven textiles R&D.

Developing natural dyes is another important component in textile transformation. DOST focuses on this to prevent toxic byproducts in the processing of textile and the income opportunities given to local farmers and manufacturers. Through DOST investments, the Natural Dyes Center that serves as the core facility for natural dyes R&D and product development, is able to link 11 NatDyes hubs all over the Philippines.

DOST aims to add three more NatDyes hubs this year. A large-scale indigo dyeing machine is already also working in PTRI.

The conference brought together stakeholders from the industry, government and academe and highlighted the significant role of collaborations in enabling innovation-led and creative studies for textile-garment and allied industries. An exhibit of design creations from Filipino artisans was also featured.