Paul Cabral designs piña barong for 21 world leaders

MANILA, Philippines - With years of experience in the design industry, Paul Cabral has managed to bag his sterling roster of clients, including the 21 economic leaders who will be attending Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' meeting in Manila on November 18 and 19.

Designer extraordinaire Paul Cabral has outdone other designers in a bid to clothe the economic leaders for their annual family photo.

Cabral started working on the designs as soon as he was notified that his entry had won the bidding. For this particular set, he opted to create barong Tagalog made with pineapple fiber – piña,the finest of all Philippine hand-woven fabrics.

“Since the Philippines is the APEC host economy, it is  fitting and appropriate for the economic leaders to wear barong Tagalog for such a significant event," Cabral said.

Cabral believes that aside from experiencing Filipino hospitality, providing garbs that reflect the rich culture of the Philippines is one of the nicest memorabilias that the Philippines can offer to its guests.

“Since the Philippines is the APEC host economy, it is  fitting and appropriate for the economic leaders to wear barong Tagalog for such as significant event," he said. “Our provision of formal wear for the world leaders is reflective of our renowned hospitality and conveys our people’s warm welcome," added the 51-year-old designer.

Having been an expert on creating impeccable garbs, Cabral shared that the personal challenge for this particular project is making each barong personal and  tastefully distinct from the other. 

To come up with the concepts, his team spent several months researching about the culture of each participating economy and used the information that they gathered as the basis of their designs.

To come up with the concepts, his team spent several months researching about the culture of each participating economy and used the information that they gathered as the basis of their designs.

Specific examples include the Malaysian Prime Minister’s barong, the embroidery of which was based on Sarawak shield designs, and the barong  for the Sultan of Brunei, which was inspired by the kingdom’s golden-domed mosques. On the other hand, the barong to be worn  by  President  Aquino  has also  been  embroidered  with  patterns  inspired  by  Filipino ancestral houses and his trademark ribbon.

The barong to be worn  by  President  Aquino  has also  been  embroidered  with  patterns  inspired  by  Filipino ancestral houses and his trademark ribbon.

In addition  to  this primary set of 21 barongs, Paul also designed similarly embroidered attires for attending leaders’ spouses.

According to Cabral, designing the barongs for such high-profile personalities is definitely a challenge, but he also considers it as an honorable experience.

In his own words, "As a designer, there is no greater  honor  than seeing one’s creation being worn by the different heads of economies. As a Filipino, it gives you so much dignity and pride."