PTRI FABULOUS @50, ADDING MORE “FAB” TO THE SENATE

As part of the Philippine Textile Research Institute’s (PTRI) year-long celebration of its 50th founding anniversary, PTRI will bring “FAB” to the Senate with a pop-up exhibit on February 6-9, 2017.

The exhibit, in collaboration with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, is the second installment of a series of events and activities in 2017 to celebrate the PTRI’s 50 years of existence – marking half-a-century of initiatives of leading the textile research and development in the country.

The exhibit is a visual representation of the Institute’s “Lab to FAB” concept – where FAB stands for “Fabric Applications and Beyond,” the essence of FABulous – intended to give its audience an appreciation of some of PTRI’s work throughout the years. This also represents PTRI’s stronger commitment and resolve to continue its mission of rejuvenating and revitalizing the Philippine textile industry.

Anchored in Lab to FAB, tangible pieces of some the Institute’s successful works including the natural fiber-blended yarns produced by the PTRI’s Innovation Center for Yarns and Textiles (ICYT) and silk filaments from the PTRI Technology Center in Misamis Oriental are featured. The ICYT yarns utilize Philippine cotton grown in Ilocos blended with tropical fibers, such as abaca and pineapple leaves, as a natural alternative to synthetic fibers while providing socio-economic opportunities to farmers. The exhibit also features the Institute’s years’ of work in natural dyes – addressing the increasing market demand for less toxic and more environmentally friendly colorants. These two flagship works create prospects for more “natural and sustainable” fashion.

The exhibit also highlights the fashion pieces created by PTRI’s partner-collaborators: Ms. Jean Avellanosa-Dee, Ms. Twinkle Ferraren, and Ms. Lucia Catanes of Narda’s, who applied science, technology and innovation interventions of PTRI to their creations.

Ms. Jean Avellanosa-Dee, a fashion and textile designer from DLSU-College of St. Benilde, showcased her creativity through her creation “Di-Matinag” (Unwavering) – a design based on the fashion of trend of the 1960s. The design is constructed from custom-made fabric of cotton-abaca blend and handwoven in an ikat-binakol technique. It is one of the finalists in the 53rd Japan Fashion Design Contest in October 2015.

Another of her creation included in the exhibit is “Liyab” (Blaze). It uses natural fabric made of cotton fibers blended with pineapple leaf, abaca, and silk by PTRI. The piece ingeniously applied computer programming to integrate a light circuit into the design that would present an alternating illumination sequence depending on the pulse of the wearer. The piece is one of the finalists in the Future Fashion held in December 2016 in Thailand.

On the other hand, Ms. Twinkle Ferraren, an islandwear fashion designer that adopts the use of natural and indigenous materials, captured modern exuberance in her Filipiniana-inspired pieces. The young designer showed her prowess through her modern take on polo-barong made with pineapple-abaca-cotton-silk fiber naturally dyed using colorants derived from the Talisay tree (Terminalia catappa). The piece also features articles and accessories from the Tausug tribe of Mindanao.

Another of her creation featured is a mash-up pineapple-silk blouse with handwoven abaca and pineapple-paper jacket; partnered with a malong made of pineapple-cotton yarns handwoven by the Tausug tribe. It also features accents and accessories made with abaca fibers ad natural wooden beads.

Last but not the least is Ms. Lucia Catanes, the new creative director behind Narda’s, the brand that helped introduce indigenous Cordillera weaving designs to the international market. The Lab to FAB exhibit features their new product line called “Narda’s Naturals” – handwoven fashion pieces such as shawls, ponchos, and fabrics made from homegrown cotton blended with abaca/pineapple leaf fibers and colored with natural mahogany, turmeric, and cogon dyes.

The featured pieces from PTRI’s partner-collaborators, along with the Institute’s science, technology and innovation interventions present the perfect synergy of science, art, culture and social impact.

The exhibit will run from February 6-9, 2017 at the Senate of the Philipines, 2F GSIS Building, Financial Center, Diokno Boulevard, Pasay City. For more information, please contact PTRI’s Technology Transfer, Information and Promotions Staff at 837-1338.

(Norly B. Villar, Technology Transfer, Information and Promotions)