Maxine Medina to help promote Maguindanaon `Inaul' fabric
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — 2016 Miss Philippines-Universe Maxine Medina on Sunday committed to help promote the “Inaul” fabric Maguindanaons have been wearing for generations.
Medina, accompanied by 2016 Miss Philippines-International Kylie Versoza, discussed with Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu in Buluan town on Sunday the market potentials of the Inaul fabric his administration is now trying to keep alive.
Medina, who finished a bachelor’s degree in interior design, and Versoza were in Buluan to join a pool of judges in the “Palamata Nu Maguindanao” pageant on Sunday night.
“I can wear in fashion shows and in any casual gatherings dresses made of Inaul, which I have learned to like. I was amazed when I learned that the fabric comes from Maguindanao,” Medina told Mangudadatu during their meeting at the governor’s office in Buluan town.
The event was one of the highlights of the February 9 to 14 first ever provincial “Inaul Festival,” meant to showcase the cultures and traditions of ethnic Maguindanaons and highlight their Inaul weaving industry.
Mangudadatu told Medina and Versoza the Inaul fabric is now a favorite clothing material of many fashion designers. He said the Inaul cloth, woven using traditional, hand-operated wooden looms, can also be used for interior designs and special home decors.
Mangudadatu wore an Inaul polo shirt during her meeting with Medina and Versoza to show them how viably usable is the fabric as main material for casual and formal attires. The colorful Inaul cloth hit the news when it was featured by designers in a Mindanao-themed Miss Universe fashion show in Davao City in January. Medina was among the 86 contestants to the Miss Universe pageant who wore Inaul-inspired gowns during the show.
The Inaul fabric began as an exclusive material for the regalia of the Maguindanaon nobility when central Mindanao was ruled by sultans whose principalities had trade connections with the sultanates in what are now Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.
Mangudadatu, now in his last and third term as provincial governor, said his office is keen on providing technical interventions needed to boost the Inaul weaving industry in Maguindanao,
