Star Trek suits are out and pineapple shirts
are in as the Philippines seeks to keep the world’s most powerful leaders
off
the list of global summit fashion train wrecks.
Boldly ignoring the ridicule levelled at past costumes, the Philippines
is
continuing the spotty tradition of dressing the heads of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) nations in the host country’s national garment.
Filipino designer to the stars Paul Cabral laboured for four months
creating a traditional “barong” shirt for each of the 21 APEC leaders,
embroidered with individual symbols of their country.
The shirts, semi-sheer and partially made from pineapple fibre, will be
worn at the summit opening in Manila on Wednesday.
But shaking off the APEC red carpet’s reputation as a worst-dressed
parade
will be a tall order for Cabral if past attempts are anything to go by.
Last year, the tunics worn by the leaders in China went viral on the
Internet for resembling Star Trek uniforms.
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008, the ponchos worn
by the leaders in Peru were ridiculed as potato sacks, while global power
players looked visibly uncomfortable two years earlier as they shuffled onto
the stage for a photo-op wearing Vietnam’s “ao dai” tunics.
The tradition harks back to 1993 when US President Bill Clinton put his
APEC colleagues in leather bomber jackets — the kind worn by World War II
fighter pilots.
The “barong tagalog” holds a special place in a Filipino man’s closet,
reserved for special events like weddings. It also serves as his burial
shroud.
The cloth is made from the hard, spiked leaves from the pineapple’s
crown,
which are pounded and dried.
For the leaders’ shirts, Cabral mixed it with silk to make it more
comfortable.
“This summit is the best showcase for the barong and for Filipino
talent,”
Cabral told AFP at his atelier in Manila, as he marked the finished garments
for delivery to the presidential palace.
“The whole world is your audience, nothing can be more grandiose than
that.”
Cabral said he was confident that his design would not be the butt of
jokes.
“I’m not at all worried. I just concentrated on my job,” he said.
Cabral said he studied the APEC leaders’ posture to come up with a design
that both represents their country and suits their build.
United States President Barack Obama’s tall frame will be draped with
bold
patterns from American renaissance architecture, he said.
The shirt of China’s Xi Jinping features tall bamboo with cascading
leaves
while Malaysia’s Najib Razak boasts warrior shields from Sarawak.
But the most important detail in the shirts for those wearing them may
not
be the intricate embroidery. Cabral said he secretly sewed a satin lining on
the tough collars to prevent itching.
“We want the leaders to be comfortable,” Cabral said. (Joel Guinto,
AFP)
Image: AFP