At Vogue Talks, Patis Tesoro Insists on Keeping Filipiniana Craft Alive

The National Artist for Design speaks to fashion designer Lulu Tan-Gan about a life and practice steeped in Filipino craftsmanship.

Closing the first day of Vogue Threads Manila 2026 at F.A.B. Creatives was the talk “Threads of Tradition: The Art & Life of Patis Tesoro.”

Industry luminaries, fashion students and young creatives alike had the rare chance of learning firsthand from newly proclaimed National Artist Design Patis Tesoro. In conversation with fashion designer Lulu Tan-Gan, Tesoro charted the course of a lifetime dedicated to Philippine fashion, textiles, and craft.

The hour-long talk was loaded with nostalgic recollections of her beginnings in fashion as well as candid sentiments on design today. Tesoro’s unfiltered quips frequently moved the audience to laughter; when asked why she began making clothes, she replied, “I wanted to make money. Period.”

Born Maria Beatriz “Patis” Pamintuan Tesoro, the FilipinianaFilipinianaThe umbrella term for traditional Philippine attire, most often referring to formal dress for women, such as the terno and Maria Clara gown, and the barong Tagalog for men. FilipinianaGo to Filipiniana Glossary designer and textile artist’s journey began as early as age six, when she and her classmates learned how to embellish from the nuns at Assumption Iloilo. Her mother was a socialite who owned a dress shop, and she recalled making dolls from retasos or scrap fabrics.

Today, she continues to run her home studio in San Pablo, Laguna, accompanied by a team who has become family, and 28-and-counting dogs. 

The fashion luminary is still actively producing new garments today, and insists on the importance of carrying our craft traditions forward. “We have to keep that culture alive,” she declared. “We’re the only country in the whole world that wears and grows pineapple. If we lose it, we lose part of our identity.”

When asked by Tan-Gan about the one legacy she wants to leave behind, Tesoro addressed the audience directly: “Continue our ‘FilipinianaFilipinianaThe umbrella term for traditional Philippine attire, most often referring to formal dress for women, such as the terno and Maria Clara gown, and the barong Tagalog for men. FilipinianaGo to Filipiniana Glossary is Forever’ [project], okay? It’s not because I want [you] to, no. If you’re Filipino, it is your duty. Keep that in your mind. That is what keeps us, as a nation, going.”

The future is up to all of us, Tesoro said. She, for one, is looking forward to other things.

“My panahon is going. I’m ready na to meet all my lovers in the bundok,” she said with a smile.

The audience, once again, responded with roaring laughter.