Nineteen eye-catching and artistically crafted creative costumes inspired by the province’s Pistay Dayat (Festival of the Sea) are on display at the Banaan Pangasinan Provincial Museum in Lingayen from Sept. 8 to Nov. 30.
Housed in the historic Casa Real, the museum features the Masanting (beautiful) Exhibit, showcasing the creativity of 19 Pangasinense designers.
One of the costumes, made for the pageant representative of Malasiqui town, is an all-white gown carefully tailored to embody the provincial capitol complex. Its designer, Jeffreyson Layug, said he added small nipa structures to the costume to include the Lingayen Beach vibe.
Another designer, Edison Bergantiños, drew inspiration from Limahong, a Chinese corsair who fled to Lingayen after his defeat by the Spaniards in the 1570s. According to the provincial government, Limahong managed to escape through what is now known as the Limahong Channel, dug by his men to reach the China Sea.
“I wanted to give the costume a touch of Pangasinan’s history that has a relation to the sea,” Bergantiños said.
Other costumes represent the abundance of marine life in the province, with designs embedded with pearls, shells, fish, and corals. The designers also captured the role of the sea in the livelihood of the people, portraying fishing and the beauty of the sea — one of the province’s tourism draws — through their choice of fabrics, beads, and sequins.
Project Masanting Camp
Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office head Maria Luisa Elduayan said the costumes were products of the Project Masanting Camp, an initiative of the provincial government under Governor Ramon Guico III, chaired by his wife, Maan Tuazon-Guico, then chairperson of the Limgas na Pangasinan pageant.
The project aimed to search for talented designers to become the official wardrobe providers for Limgas na Pangasinan 2026.
“It was part of the Limgas na Pangasinan pageant, but while the pageant did not continue this year, the camp for the local designers actually continued,” Elduayan said. The pageant was postponed due to the oil price hike crisis.
“These are their creations, which should have been worn by candidates in the creative costume competition,” she said.
Elduayan said the province opted to display the creative costumes for public viewing at the provincial museum instead.
“Since we are celebrating the third-year anniversary of the Banaan Museum and also Tourism Month and Creative Industries Month this September,” she said.
Bergantiños and Layug expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn from their mentors during the camp, held from March 16 to 20.
Bergantiños said they were given the theme and a strict PHP7,000 budget to come up with the creative costume.
“As designers, we already know where to source quality and affordable materials in Divisoria,” he said, adding that they were given 72 hours to finish the costume, including the purchase of materials, designing, and the actual making.
Both designers also thanked the provincial government for providing an avenue to showcase their talents. (PNA)