By Walter Ang
March 23, 2013
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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| (Seated, from left) WCF 2013 executive director Joy Rago; Vigan City Mayor Eva Medina; GMA Regional TV asst. vice president Oliver Amoroso; with WCF 2013 project director Rolando de Leon (standing, far right) at memorandum of agreement signing for World Costume Festival 2013. |
"WCF 2013 will showcase costumes designed for live performances such as theater, festivals, and events," says project director Rolando "Rollie" de Leon. "We have invited international and Philippine delegates, both professionals and students, to join us and exchange and share ideas for future collaborative work."
The festival will feature lectures, conferences, workshops and master classes on costume-making taught by international experts.
It will also have a trade exposition and exhibit featuring Filipino and international fabrics and materials used in costume, fashion, and accessories. "The festival will showcase demonstrations on indigenous weaving traditions from different regions of the Philippines such as batik, abel, piña, etc."
Outstanding design
The festival will have a competition for Outstanding Design Costume. "The winner will receive a Golden Kneeling Carabao trophy, the highest honor of the festival."
There will also be a body painting competition. The winner of the body painting competition will have a chance to represent the Philippines in the World Body Painting Showdown in Austria in July.
WCF 2013 will be part of the city's annual Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts. A Unesco World Heritage Site for its Spanish colonial architecture, the city features cobblestone streets where the festival's costume parade will unfold.
First time
A set and costume designer, De Leon served as national curator for the Philippine entry to the 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, an international theater festival considered the largest scenography event in the world.
WCF 2013 will coincide with the annual international meeting of the Organization of International Scenographers Theater Architects and Technicians (OISTAT) Costume Design Group. De Leon is a founding member of OISTAT's Philippine counterpart, the Philippine Association of Theater Designers and Technicians.
"OISTAT is a global and active organization of professionals and educators from seven continents who practice the discipline of designing for performance," he says. "For the first time in the Southeast Asian region, OISTAT representatives will come to the Philippines to … unveil the mystery behind Southeast Asian design practices"
"WCF 2013 is also the Philippines' preparation for OISTAT's upcoming World Stage Design festival in Cardiff, Wales in September," he adds. "We plan to choose Philippine designs to represent the country in World Stage Design 2013.
"If we don't chart the wide and stormy seas beyond the Philippines, we won't be able to share the art and culture necessary to inspire every Filipino."
Deadline for registration is March 31, 2013. Contact wcf2013@yahoo.com.ph, +63-412-15-75, or +63-916-334-6607.
Also published online:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/95615/philippines-hosts-world-costume-festival-2013