SONA fashion

CEBU, Philippines - The President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) can be compared to the Oscars when it comes to the country’s fashion world. The red carpet leading to the Plenary Hall of the Batasan Complex is not just to usher the President to the pedestal from where he delivers a speech that could either make or break his leadership, but also to glamourize the many dignitaries who’ll decorate the hall.

SONA has become an excuse for the country’s most influential people to don their best, either to make a statement (as with the case of Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño) or simply to show the whole country what it means to be fashionable. We can’t blame them because for this whole day, the whole country is glued to their television sets to see who may be there or who missed the event, to check on what people are wearing, and maybe to listen to what the President has to say.

Fashion and glamour, to be blunt, are actually one of the many major reasons why an invitation to the SONA is one of most coveted piece of invite in the country. It’s a yearly event widely covered by the media and those who want to be seen had to be there.

SONA fashion means reinventions of traditional wear, making it even more elegant in the context of 21st century fashion. The recent SONA was no exception.

Here’s some of what I glimpsed at this recent political-cum-fashion soiree, with focus, of course, on personalities who are closer to home. (FREEMAN)