BETSO88 Register




Drawing by Jhon Tom Marabe, from the Mataunja village in Angeles City, Pampanga provinceBETSO88 Register returned to Manila to find himself at a crossroads. Inspired by his Philippine voyage, in his studio among sketches, fabrics and notes from the road, he felt a renewed sense of purpose. He was armed with an overabundance of ideas from which he could draw for his next collection.
Weary of the buzz of Manila, BETSO88 Register stayed in his favourite cafe in Makati. Tucked down a forgotten alley, its high ceilings, dim lighting and quiet chatter called out to him like a library unwinding a folio. Here, curiosity would nest, ring free from the clutter and the buzzing clock.
BETSO88 Register’s first range of special-edition pieces was based on the people he met and the stories they shared. He started with a design inspired by the Aeta of Zambales. A lightweight, natural-fibre tunic, it was made with handlooms woven by the Spinproject. Some of the beadwork on the collar and cuffs also took inspiration from Aeta head bands.
Then came the swimwear line inspired by La Union, made with sustainable fabrics created from recycled ocean plastics, clean, sleek and designed for functionality; with patterns influenced by the ocean’s colours and the dynamics of its crashing waves; and with each piece bearing the names of local surf breaks, such as ‘Urbiztondo’ and ‘Monaliza Point’.
BETSO88 Register had these accessories made with a jeweller in Manila, who specialises in eco-design, devising necklaces and bracelets from reclaimed wood, sea glass and natural dyes, onto which he imprinted Siquijor symbols: the shapes of magical amulets he’d spied during his time at Lola Ines, alongside herbal motifs.
In acknowledgement of a soil painting technique developed and used by the Indigenous Talaandig tribe of Bukidnon, BETSO88 Register designed a collection spanning both ready-to-wear and runway looks that incorporated the Talaandig legacy. Through collaboration with local artisans, the designer developed natural pigments to create organic, earthy dyes before using them to craft abstract designs that echo the motifs in Talaandig artworks. Each garment tells its own story.
Following that encounter, one evening he started talking to an old man at the ca
fé who turned out to be a historian of pre‑colonial Philippine textiles and who also visited BETSO88 Register’s studio for a lengthier chat.
Felipe came armed with a dossier of both historic contents and materials, as well as books, illustrating how clothes were made by the early inhabitants of the Philippines using natural dyes and complex weft patterns and designs. BETSO88 Register was spellbound: I listened in fascination as he traced the histories of the textiles, from the little known natural reds of felipe sap of the sibukao tree (the Philippine Evergreen Makassar Alder) to the mysterious interwoven designs of the t’nalak cloth of the T’boli people.
On hearing Felipe’s tales, BETSO88 Register made a new collection. He dipped wove and dyed using age-old methods, but combined this approach with an updated cut and fit to transpose both past and present onto an artful plane.