Fashion and Beauty in the Time of Asia by S. Heijin Lee Christina H. Moon and Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu

Author:S. Heijin Lee, Christina H. Moon, and Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New York University Press

6

Splitting the Seams

Transnational Feminism and the Manila-Toronto Production of Filipino Couture

DENISE CRUZ

A few years ago, Caroline Mangosing—who was at the time the director of Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture—began fielding some unusual phone calls. Based in the heart of Toronto’s bustling Kensington Market, the center, which has since relocated, offers arts-based programming for the Filipino Canadian community and its allies.1 But Mangosing noticed that a good number of people calling Kapisanan were picking up the phone not to learn more about cultural, arts, or educational initiatives, but rather to ask about clothes. “Do you sell barongs and ternos?,” they would ask, referring to the traditional forms of clothing often worn for weddings and other social events (the barong is usually worn by men; the terno by women). As the calls started coming in more frequently, she recognized that there was a market for Filipino formal wear in Toronto, and that there were limited options available in the city. Moreover, she knew that the barongs and ternos most readily available in Toronto are made for tourist export, quickly stitched together out of synthetic materials meant to mimic the real thing, which is ideally custom-designed, hand-embroidered, and fashioned from a translucent, delicate material woven from natural fibers like piña (pineapple) or jusi (banana leaf).

Mangosing grew up in the Philippines. She watched her mother manufacture children’s clothes, attended fashion school, and dabbled in design. She quickly saw an opportunity. Inspired, she began to sketch out the outlines of a social enterprise that would combine the goal of fundraising for Kapisanan with her background in fashion to answer the need for Filipino formal wear in Toronto. After several years of development, in 2013, Mangosing began creating a small run of barongs and ternos under the name VINTA (a Tagalog word that translates to boat). In the early days of this transnational operation, the clothing was custom-fit for Canadian and US consumers; produced by Lita Lagman, a master sewer in Manila; and then, under the coordination of Mangosing’s partner, Ria Limjap, shipped back to Toronto for distribution.2 While Mangosing was directing Kapisanan, the proceeds from VINTA supported the center.3 Although the cost of textiles, embroidery, and labor influenced her decision to manufacture in the Philippines, she explained that transnational production was also necessary because Lagman’s skills were required to create the garment. The terno’s trademark large, stiff “butterfly sleeves,” for example, must be carefully pleated so that they extend up and above the woman’s shoulder in a process that, until relatively recently, has become a lesser known art form (figure 6.1).

As someone with a long-standing commitment to cultural education and social justice, Mangosing was well aware of the political implications of outsourcing and its conflict with her objectives. “VINTA,” proclaims the line’s 2014 lookbook, “aims to bring Filipino cultural clothing into the North American fashion consciousness, while promoting and raising awareness around ethical labor practices in the garment industry globally, and stimulating entrepreneurship among Filipino-Canadian young people and women.”4 Though initially she could

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