Leaders don pineapple shirts

MANILA: Star Trek suits are out and pineapple shirts are in as the Philippines seeks to keep the world’s most powerful leaders off the list of global summit fashion train wrecks.

Boldly ignoring the ridicule levelled at past costumes, the Philippines is continuing the spotty tradition of dressing the heads of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) nations in the host country’s national garment.

Filipino designer to the stars Paul Cabral laboured for four months creating a traditional “barong” shirt for each of the 21 Apec leaders, embroidered with individual symbols of their country.

The shirts, semi-sheer and partially made from pineapple fibre, will be worn at the summit opening in Manila today. But shaking off the Apec red carpet’s reputation as a worst-dressed parade will be a tall order for Cabral if past attempts are anything to go by. Last year, the tunics worn by the leaders in China went viral on the internet for resembling Star Trek uniforms.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008, the ponchos worn by the leaders in Peru were ridiculed as potato sacks, while global power players looked visibly uncomfortable two years earlier as they shuffled onto the stage for a photoop wearing Vietnam’s “ao dai” tunics. The tradition harks back to 1993 when US President Bill Clinton put his Apec colleagues in leather bomber jackets — the kind worn by World War II fighter pilots.

The “barong tagalog” holds a special place in a Filipino man’s closet, reserved for special events such as weddings. It also serves as his burial shroud.