Today’s women will wear the terno if...

Some people never give up, and in this case, we mean Ben Chan and Gino Gonzales. The Ternocon at Cultural Center of the Philippines went one step further in promoting the national dress as relevant wear for today’s Filipino women. Not only did it parade in a fashion show last Sunday the terno designs of the participants, who were mostly budding designers, from various parts of the country; the Ternocon mentored these participants in the design and making of the terno.

Gonzales went to the provinces to mentor the participants, and in Metro Manila, he was joined by seasoned designers JC Buendia, Len Cabili and Inno Sotto in giving the workshops.

To my mind, this was the first time terno- making workshops had been given that extensively in preparation for a fashion collection. Some years back, Inquirer Lifestyle “FaceOff” staged the milestone “Masters vs Millennials” to showcase the maria clara designs of veteran designers and millennial designers. Of course, while both generations displayed utmost creativity, the millennials remained in awe of the technique and construction of the masters in doing the maria clara. But the veterans didn’t share knowledge with the millennials.

Experimentations

Apparently, as a result of the mentoring, the Ternocon yielded polished collections and experimentations with materials (e.g. solihiya weaving). Gonzales told us that one participant, Dave Datoy of Gen San, had never even sewed a dress before Ternocon; he was just mentored by Sotto. And ironically, Datoy’s was one of our favorites—a burgundy empire-cut terno, multi-layered (organza or tulle), with hand-embroidered prints of coconut trees, heart, sun, fruits. It was whimsical, hip, wearable—and not traditional.

We would have wanted the less traditional but wearable designs to win, to show how today’s generation of designers could tweak the terno— including its silhouette—without going overboard or being gimmicky.

That brings us to the point of the whole Ternocon: how indeed do you make today’s women wear the terno in their everyday lifestyle? Can they? Should they?

Last Sunday’s guests came in their terno, although not necessarily in the day terno (not floor-length) specified in the invite that came with a sketch of the day terno and its components ( panuelo and all). The women were either in the traditional long terno, or in the more casual-looking day terno that fell at midcalf.

It was impressive how the women, with their designers, gave the terno their individual interpretations—and glammed up on a Sunday at that.

So yes, it seems today’s women are eager to reserve the terno a place in their wardrobe. But how do you wear the terno not only to Filipiniana or special “ninang” oc-

Ternocon, next year, could push the boundaries of design, encourage the participants to play with its silhouette/ proportion, or even deconstruct it