Dresses made of inaul fabric to be showcased in Toronto fashion show

COTABATO CITY – Modernized dresses made of Maguindanao’s iconic inaul fabric will be displayed in a fashion show in Toronto, Canada this coming June, according to a prospect model and event organizers.

Reigning Miss Asia-Pacific and Mutya ng Pilipinas Shariffa Akeel said fashion designer Renee Salud has asked her to lead a group of Filipino models for the first-ever showcase of inaul-derived dresses abroad.

She said Salud has already made arrangements with counterparts in Canada for the staging of the fashion show in Toronto.

The Manila Bulletin interviewed the 22year old coed, known in her Sultan Kudarat home-province as Shariffa Mangatong Areef Mohammad Akeel, last February 13 in Buluan, Maguindanao where she and other reigning Philippine beauties attended the province’s Third Inaul Festival as guests.

She served as one of the judges in the search for 2019 Palamata Nu Maguindanao, a beauty pageant segment of the festival held last February 12.

Last February 13 and 14, Akeel and eight other female and male models staged fashion shows, modeling various dresses designed from inaul fabrics by Salud, JayAr Flores and Jearson Demavivas, designer of 2018 Miss Universe Catriona Gray.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, in another interview, said his family will be co-sponsoring the event in Canada in June to “promote inaul globally for the first time.”

“(The Canada event) will be a great break for promoting inaul. We salute Renee Salud for helping us,” he said.

Inaul is a fabric produced by hand-weaving with bamboo looms in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur prior to Spanish colonization era. Its production has been revived from becoming instinct by the Mangudadatu administration in 2014.