At Ternocon 2025, The Kimona Is Front and Center

For this year’s Ternocon, contestants were to reimagine the kimona, drawing inspiration from 20th-century Filipino artists.

One might consider it providential. The fact that Peach Garde, who took home the gold medal at this year’s terno-making convention, built his collection around the works of National Artist for Architecture Leandro V. Locsin. It was Locsin who designed the Philippine International Convention Center, and it was in the PICC where TernoCon 2025 was taking place.

From the beginning, TernoCon has always been a shared endeavor between the CCP and local retailer Bench. Every two years, its committee selects 12-14 semi-finalists among about a hundred applicants, before educating them over a period of nearly 12 months on the history and technicalities behind the national dress. It’s a half-year journey that includes week-long lock-in periods, which most recently took place up north in Baguio City and Bonifacio Global City in the metro.

To demonstrate their learnings, competitors are tasked with creating a capsule collection that hones in on a specific aspect of the national dress assigned for the particular edition. TernoCon 3, for instance, focused on the balintawak or the country version of the terno. “The outfit was typically used for town fiestas, pilgrimages, or excursions to the countryside,” writes TernoCon founding artistic director Gino Gonzales in the book TernoCon 2023: Ang Balintawak Ngayon.

For this year’s installment, contestants were to reimagine the kimona, described by Gonzales in the accompanying exhibition’s text as “a sheer blouse with continuous sleeves” that was “initially worn as a practical ‘house’ dress.” Additionally, participants were to draw inspiration from a 20th-century Filipino artist of their choice. “It was surprising because some chose a sculptor, some chose an architect; mostly, painters, so it’s very diverse,” notes Eric Cruz, the convention’s incumbent artistic director. On the runway, ternos took after the visual legacies of the National Artists Vicente Manansala, Jose Joya, and Ben Cabrera, among others.

The latest edition is the first headed by Cruz, who succeeded Gonzales after assisting him since TernoCon’s inception in 2018. Cruz confides that he was initially apprehensive about helming the fourth season because fashion is a totally different world for him. Still, he says, “I learned a lot because although Gino is not the artistic director, he was there guiding me, giving some pointers. Including Inno [Sotto, chief mentor] who was a very big help, and the mentors Rhett Eala, Lulu Tan-Gan, and Ezra Santos who were really really helpful. Somehow it became a collaborative effort in terms of artistic direction.”

If the tight-knit bond between the competition’s organizers and participants wasn’t obvious during the ceremony, it was apparent during the exhibit’s opening, which felt more like a salu-salo. When Vogue arrived at the Sandiganbayan Reception Hall at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Renee Manay, the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ culture and arts officer, was transporting trays of food from a van to the event’s designated dining area. “Sir Gino is inside,” she says with a smile.

Sure enough, there he was: strolling leisurely around the exhibit alongside CCP president Kaye Tiñga. The two were making their way around Filipiniana x Obra, a showcase of the works of TernoCon 2025 finalists following the fashion show and awarding ceremony last January 26. Around the room were the creations of all finalists and mentors, while at the center were the prize-winning collections of Chef Mentor Awardee Windell Madis, Ramon Valera (Bronze) Awardee Ram Silva, Pacita Escurdia (Silver) Awardee Bryan Peralta, and Pacita Longos (Gold) Awardee Peach Garde.

Hailing from the province of Capiz in the Visayas, Peach Garde, this year’s gold medalist, chose National Artist for Architecture Leandro V. Locsin’s brutalist architecture as his muse. “I translated his shapes, his bold design, his concrete, raw finish into something wearable, viewing [it] through the lens of tailoring,” he tells Vogue. Garde’s winning looks were initially made in gray fabric to mimic Locsin’s structures, until his assigned mentor Rhett Eala insisted that he add color to his work. Garde first introduced hints of green to resemble moss growing on concrete, before deciding to put the color in focus. His ensembles became a medley of army and lime green, with touches of gray.

Garde describes his dynamic with Eala as being full of freedom, where he could work on his designs in solitude before presenting it for feedback. His mentor reflects, “It was a really nice experience because you’re passing on your knowledge to the younger generation of designers. And they’re very creative also, so you just guide them through the whole process. You don’t impose your taste on them, because they have their own taste.”

Despite each finalist being designated a senior designer, Peach gushes about how his fellow finalists and their mentors were generous with feedback and words of advice. When asked about Sotto, Garde replies, “Sir Inno is kind of strict, but I love his strictness.” The chief mentor and esteemed designer has been with TernoCon since its inaugural edition, and he tells Vogue, “What I like about TernoCon is the dedicated effort to awaken an awareness and appreciation for the [national] dress.” Cruz agrees, saying, “Through TernoCon, the young and future generations to come will be able to value the importance of the butterfly sleeves in creating that Filipino identity, which we really need as an individual, as a community, and as a Filipino.” 

Back in the National Museum, more guests begin to file in. Hugs are exchanged, kisses are passed from cheek to cheek, and after a while, Gino ushers everyone to the dining hall. “Kain tayo,” he invites. Let’s eat. A long spread of bibingka, mini ensaymada, hopia, barbecue, chicken lollipops, cheese, and meat is at the center of the room while everyone chatters, flitting from table to table like long-separated relatives coming together for the holidays.

Garde, who was back home in Iloilo, was absent from the festivities. When we call a few days after the exhibit opening, he confesses that their group chats are filled with messages of longing. Everyone misses everyone, he shares, and it’s not just the designers, but the team at CCP too, who have been along for the ride every step of the way. “Aside from the professional growth, you will grow with a new set of friends,” says Garde of TernoCon. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience.” 

By TICIA ALMAZAN. Photographs by BIMPOMAN. Producer: Anz Hizon. Digital Associate Editor: Chelsea Sarabia.