Student Designers Reimagine the Filipiniana at DOST-PTRI's 2025 Stitch-Off Competition

DOST-PTRI Director Dr. Julius L. Leaño Jr. opened the event by highlighting the essence of Stitch-Off as a celebration of creativity grounded in authenticity. “Makikita niyo po hindi lamang ang gawa ng akal, kundi makikita niyo ang likha ng puso,” he said. “This, by the way, is the battle cry of Stitch-Off.”

Adding a vibrant note to the night, P-pop group Cloud 7 delivered high-energy performances, with the program hosted by Miss Philippines Earth 2025 Joy Barcoma.

This year’s panel of judges featured a diverse roster of creative leaders: Carissa Cruz-Evangelista, chairperson of the Philippine Fashion Coalition; Preview Best Filipino Fashion Designers 2025 honoree Jaggy Glarino; designers Ditta Sandico and Thian Rodriguez; Onesimus CEO Ed Canlas; Intramuros Administration’s Atty. Joan M. Padilla; DOST-PTRI Director IV Dr. Julius L. Leaño Jr.; Fashion Accessory Makers of the Philippines (FAMPh) president Gina Nebrida Ty; and Preview editor-in-chief Marj Ramos-Clemente.

Flora de Corales from iAcademy, designed by Joan Pauline S. Mesia and Laurence P. Obona in collaboration with LPZ Abra weavers and mentored by Ricardo Arcita, earned 2nd runner-up honors for its vivid interpretation of sea corals and blossoms—an elegant fusion of marine texture and floral form rendered in richly layered pieces.

The 1st runner-up and Youth Vote award went to Beyond the Currents from Iloilo Science and Technology University, created by Jarre N. Silvestre, Christian Dave J. Dolorfino, and Twinkle Joy C. Cabaluna, guided by mentors Peter G. Gagula and Jasmine Ibones, and produced with the San Jose Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. The collection drew from the lives of fisherfolk, with pleats mimicking the motion of water and embroidery tracing the ebb and flow of waves. Its structured terno sleeves and fluid drapes paid homage to heritage while reflecting progress—“showing that heritage is not fixed in time, but ever-flowing, much like the sea.”

Taking the top prize was Paghinumdom sa Adlaw from the University of the Philippines Cebu, designed by Cashlee Paras, Faye Alvinez, and Ruben Rae C. Langamen under the mentorship of Robert Andrew Hiyas, and created in collaboration with the Barangay Tan-awan Farmers Weavers Association of Negros Nine in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental. The collection evoked nostalgia for Filipino childhood games like takyan, sungka, and saranggola, weaving playfulness and memory into its reimagined Filipiniana silhouettes.