Held at the Educational Resource Room of the Asian Art Museum, the exhibit features the development of 300 years of piña fabric production from its early origins in the 1500s, to contemporary times. The exhibit includes an antique pañuelo, a christening gown and a flapper dress from the private collection of Mr. Jules Kliot. Fashion designer and textile technologist Anthony Cruz Legarda showcased piña in evening wear, along with three panels of piña woven by master weavers and embroiderers from Aklan and Laguna provinces. Also included in the display was a piña handkerchief embroidered with San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, with a Philippine vinta in the foreground. Dyed piña samples were displayed, allowing museum-goers to touch the textiles.
Ms. Patis Tesoro toured the attendees around the space, which included Consuls General and Consuls of the consular corps, the San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee, and the media, to give them an appreciation of the patience and skill needed to produce one yard of piña. She remarked that the Philippines is one of the few countries who still weaves textiles by hand, which may be attributed to the Philippines being an archipelago, hastening the descent of technology in some provinces.
The event also launched the San Francisco Philippine Tourism Office’s new product, a textile tour that would bring San Francisco-based textile enthusiasts around the Philippines for an immersive and buying tour that would support the weavers and embroiderers at the grass-roots level.
In his welcome remarks, Deputy Consul General Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon said that “Supporting [Philippine] products not only ensures the continuity of these important cultural gems and rich traditions, but also provides livelihood for the various indigenous groups in the Philippines.” He added that the Consulate General was proud to be able to share with the Community and the consular corps an important aspect of the Philippine textile industry.
The Hinabi Project exhibit remained on display until October 13. END