Piña Couture New York Fashion Show at Philippine Consulate

By Judy Huang

On Sep 28th, AsianInNY was invited as press to attend Piña Couture New York Fashion Show at Philippine Consulate where we got to experience that Filipino weaving and embellishments and other indigenous textiles can compete in the world of high fashion.

Building a dream has never been easy. Neither is creating a brand for your product or service. Branding isn’t difficult to do but creating an internationally recognized brand is. You need the right timing, the right people, the right place, the right thing, the right attitude, and the right resources. These are just some of the things required for successful branding. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have all these things to help make their dream and their branding come true, but designer Anthony Cruz Legarda seems to have all these together in his “PCNY – Piña Couture New York: Promoting and Preserving Works of Filipino Master Artisans through High Fashion” event.

Anthony Cruz Legarda had just the right tools to help him accomplish his goal of branding the Philippine piña as a high-end luxury fabric, such as Thai silk, Indian cotton, and Irish linen. With the help of his friends from the Philippine community (e.g. Marivic Bay Mabanag, Zoila Mendoza, Cynthia Puyo Flores, Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago, and etc.), Mr. Legarda put together a show that takes the audience to a whole other level. Not only did the Philippine community help organize and sponsor PCNY, well-known individuals also appeared to support Mr. Legarda’s endeavors. Among his supporters are Philippine actress and director Lorli Villanueva, Philippine Consul General Ambassador Mario De Leon, Jr. and wife, the Philippine Ambassador of Canada’s wife, Debbie Gatan.

Piña , a high-quality fabric handwoven from pineapple fibers, was the main fabric used in his collection but other variations were also used in the fabric palette. Variations included Philippine silk, organic cotton, and other eco-friendly fibers. The textiles used were embroidered and laced sheer with floral designs in linen, Philippine silk and cotton-saluyot threads, plaids in metallic and poly-hyacinth threads, and jacquards with floral and ethnic patterns in cotton-piña and Philippine silk fibers.

Actress Lorli Villanueva, Philippine Consul General Ambassador Mario De Leon, Jr

The sweet sounds of a piano led the Al Models down the runway. Each piece of design featured clean lines with predominant hour-glass and fit, and flare shapes. Hues of yellow, green, black and indigo bounced off the spotlights reflecting and providing glimpses of the details pertaining to the design and fabric.

PCNY was not only about branding piña but also about branding and promoting awareness of Philippine culture and style. Every aspect of the show was Filipino; Sponsored by the Philippine American Writers and Artists, the event took place at the Philippine Center at 556 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Catering included Filipino turones, shrimp balls, and spring rolls from Isla Pilipiñas.

With a mission, the right elements, and like-minded individuals, luxury branding of the piña and promoting awareness of Philippine culture are not far from Mr. Legarda’s reach if he continues to strive for great work.

For more information about the designer, please visit: www.anthonycruzlegarda.com

Judy Huang with Marivic Bay Mabanag and designer Anthony Cruz Legarda

AsianInNY with designer Anthony Cruz Legarda

Center: Philippine Consul General Ambassador Mario De Leon, Jr

For more event coverage, please follow us at https://www.facebook.com/AsianInNYFans

Avatar photo

About AsianInNY

AsianInNY.com is New York’s leader in Asian networking and a multi-cultural entertainment site. AsianInNY has established itself as the premier social and cultural authority for Asians in New York City. AsianInNY maintains the highest standards in providing reliable online content and producing live offline events. AsianInNY seeks to inspire, educate, and connect our community, using a versatile platform that engages our audience via a multi-layered digital presence that showcases the best of New York City. Our pages are updated daily with a rich cultural mix of news, events, interviews, and more. AsianInNY: Connect with Everything Asian!