THE Department of Tourism on Friday urged local fashion designers in Davao to spare the Miss Universe delegates, organizers and foreign visitors from the controversy arising from the engagement of a non-Mindanaoan couturier to do the clothes for a pre-pageant fashion show.
DOT officials earlier approved of the fashion show conceptualized by couturier Rene Salud to feature Mindanao’s indigenous weavers and their fabrics, however, this was cancelled last Wednesday because of the controversy.
A member of a Davao City designers’ group sought an audience with the Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo but she was part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s entourage in a state visit to Cambodia so the local designers took to social media to ventilate their demands.
“To avoid controversy and spare our visitors from unnecessary intrigue that doesn’t serve the interest of the greater good, we’ve decided to cancel the fashion show in Davao City. We, at DOT, are concerned in promoting our dollar-earning tourism industry and not anyone’s personal interest,” Tourism Undersecretary Kat de Castro urged.
A group of Davao-based fashion designers released a statement on Tuesday, criticizing the decision of the Miss Universe pageant hosting committee to hand over the privilege of dressing up some of the candidates for a side event to be held in the city to a “non-Mindananoan” designer.
The Davao Fashion and Design Council Foundation Inc. said it was disappointed to learn that Salud will be the one to head the fashion show, which was to be held at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City on January 19.
“Call it proper and befitting, the Mindanaoan designers have all the rights and benefits to best represent the distinctive fashion and style of Mindanao, in the first place,” the group said, adding that they felt insulted with the committee’s proposal to have them dress up local models instead.
“DFDCFI will continue to uphold its stand and will use all its resources and capacity to have this issue properly addressed by the Miss Universe committee, at the soonest. Should it not be, this turn of events will continue to become a blunder for local pride of place, where the President himself is coming from,” it said.
The group’s stand is backed by Alfonso “Boy” Guinoo, the region’s widely recognized fashion czar.
“I am displeased by the insensitivity of the Miss Universe Committee, led by Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo to allow Renee Salud, a non-Mindanaoan designer, to showcase the tapestry of Mindanao fashion in the Davao event of Miss Universe,” Guinoo said.
“Teo, who is supposed to be a Mindanaoan herself, must have used her capacity to intelligently think about the impact her decisions must have caused our local pride of place and its people. I would like to think mediocre politicking has overran her.”