Last Saturday, June 28, I flew into Cebu on the earliest flight I could catch. As a designer based in Manila, I’ve seen my share of runway shows—but nothing quite like this. The Philippine Terno Gala 2025 was more than just a fashion event. It was the fashion event of the year. A homecoming. A national statement. A moment of reckoning for Filipino design—and the terno at the heart of it all.
That evening, the Pacific Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino pulsed with glamour and purpose. It was more than a venue—it became a cultural stage. Beneath its soaring chandeliers, fashion editors, stylists, supermodels, and society stalwarts from across the archipelago gathered in a shared act of reverence. Many came dressed in their finest: embroidered ternos, intricately woven barongs, and bold contemporary Filipiniana that turned the ballroom into a moving tableau of identity and pride.
Curated by Cary Santiago—one of the country’s most masterful couturiers—and supported by the Cebu City Government and Tourism Office, the show brought together six of the Philippines’ finest designers for a once-in-a-generation showcase. Their charge? To reimagine the terno, a garment that carries the history, grace, and contradictions of a nation on its sleeves.
“This isn’t just fashion—it’s heritage in motion,” Cary said during the press conference. That line stayed with me. As a designer, I understood the weight of what he meant.
This wasn’t just spectacle. It was cultural reclamation.
The Terno, Reimagined
The terno—with its sculptural butterfly sleeves and commanding silhouette—is the Philippines’ national formal dress. Once largely reserved for state functions and pageants, it is increasingly being seen as a canvas for modern Filipino expression.
At the Philippine Terno Gala 2025, the mission was clear: to reflect how the terno lives on, not as costume or relic, but as living heritage. Through cuts, folds, fabric, and form, each designer offered a new interpretation of tradition.
From Stillness to Movement
The lights dimmed. A hush fell. The audience leaned in as the music rose, and the first model stepped onto the raised wooden stage at the center of the room. From that moment, every movement felt intentional.
Edwin Ao: Geometry and Gesture
Designer Edwin Ao opened the evening with boldness. A striking red and black ensemble—unexpected from someone known for monochromes—marked his shift into something more sculptural. Knowing Ao’s long-standing preference for neutrals, the choice of red felt intentional, almost defiant.
Origami-like folds, layered textiles, and reworked barong Tagalog elements signaled Ao’s constant pursuit of innovation. There was a quiet power to his forms. Angular, almost mathematical. The garments didn’t just walk—they cut through space.
Protacio Empaces: Echoes of Elegance
Protacio Empaces followed with a collection that softened the room. Inspired by the silhouettes and spirit of the 1920s and ’30s, his garments featured sheer pastel fabrics, lace details, and hints of dandyism.
Where Ao built tension, Protacio released it—offering a vision of the terno as something light, nostalgic, and deeply Filipino. He reminded us that dressing up was once an act of grace, not excess. A memory made tangible.
Jun Escario: Island Ease
Jun Escario brought a shift in mood. His models walked in flat footwear, draped in silk and sheer fabrics that floated like sea foam. There was breeze in the way the garments moved, and a kind of grace that felt like homecoming.
The terno, in Escario’s hands, became easeful. Stripped of stiffness, but full of soul.
Joey Samson: Tailored Quiet
Joey Samson brought silence of a different kind. His all-black collection leaned into androgyny, deconstruction, and layering—fusing the structure of menswear with the symbolism of the terno.
Blazers with softened butterfly sleeves. Barong-style transparency paired with suit fabrics. There was no noise in his pieces, just an invitation to look closer.
As someone who has worked with tailoring myself, I found Samson’s precise hand and technical restraint particularly striking. His work doesn’t shout—it murmurs. And you want to hear more.
Jojie Lloren: Discipline and Devotion
Then came Jojie Lloren—in a palette of only black and white. His garments were precise, architectural, and emotionally restrained. No embellishment, only construction.
Every sleeve felt like a sculpture. Every seam, a meditation. Lloren’s work spoke with quiet authority—and many, myself included, listened closely. Some of the most masterful sleeves of the evening belonged to Lloren—clean, sculpted, and emotionally exacting.
Cary Santiago: The Flight Finale
And finally, Cary Santiago.
Inspired by “Ang Pipit,” the beloved folk song about a wounded bird, Santiago’s collection took flight. But instead of literal feathers, he constructed his own: cut from sheer fabric, layered and sculpted to move like plumage.
He had shared during the briefing that he wanted the finale to be “a moment of stillness and flight at once.” Watching the final terno—a white sculptural piece that seemed to hover above the floor—I felt he had succeeded.
It was the most dramatic moment of the evening. Dresses in white, black, and gray swept across the stage with grace and conviction. And then, that final terno: all white, silent, strong.
The audience didn’t just applaud. They exhaled.
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What the Terno Carries
The Philippine Terno Gala 2025 wasn’t merely a fashion show. It was a reckoning—with heritage, with form, with how we carry the past forward. At a time when tradition is so often archived, the terno proved it can still lead the conversation.
The Pacific Grand Ballroom at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino was electric. It felt like a grand reunion—fashion editors, stylists, and Manila’s top models mingled with arts patrons and society figures from across the country. Many arrived in their finest: embroidered ternos, modern barongs, and dramatic takes on Filipiniana that turned the evening into a living gallery of pride and style.
Backed by the Cebu LGU and masterfully curated by Cary Santiago—and beautifully directed by Junjet Primor—the Gala was more than a fashion show. It was a statement. The terno lives on, not just in memory, but in motion.
And that night, in Cebu, it flew.
Bisou bisou.
About the Author: Dong Omaga‑Diaz
Dong Omaga‑Diaz is a respected Filipino fashion designer, creative director, and former President of the Fashion & Design Council of the Philippines. Known for his quiet elegance and narrative-led design, he has represented the country at international fashion weeks and championed Filipino talent on global platforms. In his SCENES coverage of the Terno Gala, Dong brings a designer’s eye to heritage and silhouette, revealing the deeper story behind every stitch.
