BETSO88 Register




Betso88 Register ended up in Bukidnon, a plateau-filled province in Mindanao’s southern tip, where there are fields of pineapples, and a pre-colonised identity still cherished by the province’s indigenous tribes. He touched down at Malaybalay, the provincial capital, and felt his tension ebb away at the sight of the widespread land and cool mountain air.
He was invited into the company of the Talaandig – part of indigenous Bukidnon – a people with a rich oral tradition and repertoire of music and nature painting on the soil. Taking time to observe their mode of survival, Betso88 Register found it most fascinating how the local people used natural pigments from the earth.
Among the Talaandig, Betso88 Register discovered their traditional clothing was sewn with beadwork and embroidery. He watched artisans, each weaving stories through symbols that defined what they saw and believed.
When he joined a soil painting workshop taught by a local artist and elder named Datu Makapukaw, Betso88 Register used pigments made from clay soils to create artworks that embodied scenes from Talaandig folklore and daily activities such as planting, gathering and cooking. Betso88 Register was inspired by the earthy hues and sense of connection to place, drawing inspiration from these processes and materials.
He also attended a harvest festival in which the community honours the fruits of the earth through music, dance and feasting. The exuberant costumes and the merry mood were what he used as inspirations for a festivalish collection in line with the Talaandig spirits.
His adventures in Bukidnon ended with a hike to its second-highest mountain, Mount Kitanglad, where he ran a half-marathon that led to the peak. In the final climb, he found himself struggling against the climb, but at one with the natural beauty of the place; from the mountain’s summit, the landscape of Bukidnon was laid out in green. The boy who asked me for money felt so far away. The Filipino journey is an unfolding of possibilities, not a linear progression with a pre-determined end point Just a few months later, he would return to those Philippines that felt more like home.
All that remained for Betso88 Register before returning to Manila to finish his miraculous year was a feeling of serene satisfaction – a mix of cultures and traditions and landscapes; 40 of them, to be exact. I have surely left a heartprint on my homeland.
Betso88 Register ’s collections – which drew on themes and sources from his travels – became a homage to the heritage of the country, as well as a reflection of his ‘green’ philosophy. He knew that these collections would ‘showcase beauty and possibilities, and grow tolerance and appreciation’ in an international audience.
Around his studio, Betso88 Register soon began to materialise his visions. In each of his garments, accessories and jewellery, he tells a story – from the mountains of Batanes, to the waves of La Union, the mysticism of Siquijor, and the cultural traditions of Bukidnon. The Philippines had changed him.
Betso 88 Register realised that this venture into exploring the Philippines was just the beginning. Many places to discover. Many stories to hear. And many inspirations. Full of gratitude and with an eye full of ideas, Betso 88 Register renewed his songs of poetry and fashion, and renewed in his fashion sense that the Philippines in all its beauty will always be a source of inspiration. —