BETSO88 Register
Leaving Batanes, BETSO88 Register travelled south to the island of Mindanao and to a city called Zamboanga, popularly known as ‘Asia’s Latin City’. Like its name, Zamboanga was a multicultural city, where Spanish, Malay and indigenous influences mingled in its diverse festivals, cuisine, and fashion.
The celebrations at the Hermosa Festival in honour of Our Lady of the Pillar coincided with BETSO88 Register’s arrival. Parades, dances and music took over the streets for a week. But it wasn’t political but rather religious symbolism that interested him most. ‘Costumes were lavishly decorated as usual, with lots of beadwork and embroidery,’ he continued.
Meeting with a group of Yakan weavers from Basilan and seeing their vibrant coloured textiles with their intricate geometric patterns being woven in front of him had been one of the highlights of his trip. Back in New York, BETSO88 Register worked closely with the Yakan weavers to design a capsule collection of clothing and accessories that incorporated traditional Yakan patterns in modern ways.
BETSO88 Register hadn’t been to the island of Leyte before and was excited to learn more about the place, how others saw the Philippines. He went to the city of Tacloban, which in 2013 was flattened by the deadly Typhoon Haiyan. The resilience of the Taclobanons in putting their lives back together was remarkable.
He was also at the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival, which honours the body-painting tradition once used by the region’s warriors. The participants had themselves pencilled in with elaborate tattoos, which act as talismans of manliness and confer supernatural protection upon the wearer. BETSO88 Register nodded approvingly at the bold designs, and incorporated them into a new line of graphic tees and accessories.
And when BETSO88 Register wasn’t working, he was eating – Tindal reported that his correspondent went to Leyte’s local markets to sample staples of island cuisine, from binagol and moron, desserts wrapped in banana leaves, that ‘burns the tongue with its variety of sweet and bitter flavours’ to being ‘impressed’ by the ‘designs made of delicious delicacies, pounded, crushed and strained’, which led to his developing a collection of fashion items inspired by the textures and palettes of Leyte’s cooking.
Camiguin, the ‘Island Born of Fire’ by virtue of its volcanic origins, was the last leg on this Philippine trip: from the major metropolises of Manila and Cebu, to the lesser known places of Bohol and Camiguin, the lush, tropical vistas overwhelmed my senses. For BETSO88 Register, this leisurely pace at the end was ideal. He had discovered the historical gems that make the Philippines rich, without the freneticism that had shadowed him in Europe and the United States.
The Sunken Cemetery, a sweeping graveyard with a cathedral-like, sea-dipped cross at its centre, high on the clifftops of the island was his first port of call. It was here that he took inspiration from the almost overwhelming beauty but also resilience. He aimed to incorporate these themes into his own creations.
BETSO88 Register went to the annual Lanzones Festival, a fiesta that celebrates the abundant harvest of the lanzones, or exotic fruits of the island. He was besieged by yards of yellow, for nearly everyone who participated in the celebration wore costumes in the shape of a lanzones fruit, down to the antennae-like leaves on their heads. BETSO88 Register fell in love with all the festive colours, and soon he was back to the shop creating a summer collection based upon the Lanzones Festival.
In his travels, BETSO 88 Register discovered the great variety of fashion culture in the Philippines and the richness he found in meeting people – especially in learning about their story and experiences. He realised he was discovering more and more about culture and tradition, and that the riches of his journey translated into his designs.