Support the Filipino Hand Weaving Heritage by Purchasing from These Local Brands
Oct 20, 2020 • Ina Louise Manto
Weaving has been a part of Filipino culture for centuries, with indigenous groups wearing these textiles like it’s their second skin. As we celebrate National Indigenous Month this October with Habi: The Philippines Textile Council, we’ve rounded up local brands who partner with local artisans around the country who keep the art of hand-weaving alive and provide a livelihood for communities. After all, the art of local weaving is truly something worth preserving and supporting.
Tadeco Home
Davao-based Tadeco Home uses banana, pineapple, or abaca fibers to manufacture stationery, t-nalak weaves, and other environmental-friendly items. Tadeco provides livelihood programs to weavers in Lake Sebu, generates livelihood opportunities to the banana workers of Tadeco and their families, as well as communities in the Panabo area and the urban poor in Davao City. To learn more, visit their website.
Narda’s
Famous Benguet-based brand Narda’s is known for reinventing the Cordillera Ikat weaving, and their products can be found in five-star hotels, boutiques, and specialty shops all over the world. Their products include fashion items for men and women, home decor pieces, and fabrics. To learn more, visit their official website.
Manila Collectible Co.
Manila Collectible Co. is a souvenir store that specializes in hand-woven textiles and accessories by indigenous groups from across the country. They have a wide range of products including colorful masks by the Binodbodan people from Ifugao, which is a stylish upgrade from the usual surgical masks. You can also find Inaul 100% cotton fabric (Php 600 per yard) crafted by weavers in Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato – it takes two people to weave a piece of fabric!
To find more of their products, visit Manila Collectible Co’s page.
Monica Madrigal
A ready-to-wear brand for women, Monica Madrigal takes silhouettes that are simple, modern, and easy to wear using minimalist yet standout details. Made with high-quality fabrics, the clothes are manufacture in small batches to ensure their quality, and they’re affordable too! Monica Madrigal’s Heritage Collection uses traditional, handwoven fabrics from different indigenous tribes to create Filipino cultural pieces you can wear every day.
Find more of Monica Madrigal’s products on their official website.
Style Isle
Give your closet a much-needed upgrade with Style Isle. From bags to face masks to jewelry, they use handwoven fabrics in their designs so you’re sure to get a unique piece. And if you want to try your hand at weaving, Style Isle also holds online weaving workshops!
To learn more, visit Style Isle’s Instagram page.
Camisa Amana
Camisa Amana, in a nutshell, is Filipiniana fashion for the modern Filipino. The brand takes classic styles like the terno and barong and reinvents them into something that you can wear every day.
To see more of their products, visit their Instagram page.
Lokal H+A+F
Lokal H+A+F (Home Art Fashion) is a one-stop-shop of well-curated handcrafted products from locales all over the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Some of their wares include handpainted artwear, handmade shoes from Marikina, and banig works of art from Leyte and Bukidnon.
To see more of their products, visit Lokal H+A+F’s Facebook page.
Raquel’s Piña Cloth Products
Mrs. Raquel Eliserio of Raquel’s Piña Cloth Products is the Lourdes Montinola Piña Weaving Competition champion from last year’s Likhang Habi Market Fair in 2019. She’s an Aklan-based cultural master in piña weaving, where the best piña cloth can be found. One of her winning pieces, a scarf made of piña fiber, took over a month to weave using two of the oldest weaving methods used in the province.
To see more of Mrs. Eliserios’s work and where you can buy them, follow her Facebook page.
All of these brands and more are participating in the first online edition of Likhang Habi Market Fair, which opens on October 21. Check it out here!
