Koronadal City, South Cotabato, Philippines —- Ultimately, Archie Castillo took home the Champion title. The three designers showed great craftsmanship with weaving culture and fashion, showing that culture shines strong on the runway.
After hours of hard work and dedication, three designers were crowned as the Top 3. Jose Nacionales secured the 2nd Runner-up spot, with the 1st Runner-up given to Ivan Raborar.
Jimmy Gayanilo, Event Director, said unlike a traditional pageant or runway show, the province’s fashion design competition introduced a high-stakes challenge of producing a fashion design infused with T’nalak elements and to be worn and modeled within the span of a single day.
In a vibrant display of fashion pieces rooted in culture and heritage, twelve designers from South Cotabato took the spotlight at the first-ever South Cotabato Fashion Design Competition on July 12, 2026, at Habi Hotel.
The competition, as part of the province’s 60th Foundation Anniversary and the 27th T’nalak Festival, tasked designers to create a design that fused South Cotabato’s iconic fabric into fashionable works of art, boasting creativity and cultural pride.
“The South Cotabato Fashion Design Competition is the first-ever type of event done in the province, thanks to the efforts of the ARV Organization and the head, Miss Angela Villanueva,” Gayanilo said.
The competition is not only a medium for local designers to showcase their talent and creativity; it is also the lifelong dream for the designers of South Cotabato.
Gayanilo echoed in a pre-event interview on June 24, 2026t hat the vision of this landmark is the importance of the T’nalak and the South Cotabato fashion community in its creation.
“It’s all about bringing the T’nalak into a national stage or into an international stage… We will not only focus on the T’nalak, but we will focus on the fabric of the tribe people because South Cotabato is a tribe people community and very rich in culture,” Gayanilo explained.
The success of the Fashion Design Competition shows the beautiful combination of cultural expression and self-expression in the world of fashion, proving that the artistry of the designers of South Cotabato knows no bounds.
This vision shared by Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Leo Magno during the grand opening ceremony of the T’nalak Festival came to life during the province Tnalak Festival earlier today.
“We see an agricultural powerhouse, a growing tourism destination and a model of how cultural diversity can become drivers of economic growth,” Magno said, referring to the province robust investments for the industries of tomorrow.
The MinDA chief lauded the province as a fast-growing tourism destination and a premier model of how cultural diversity can fuel economic growth, emphasizing that “development creates opportunities for people to have a better life.”
This was fully demonstrated in the groundbreaking competition won by Archie Castillo, which proved that weaving traditional heritage into modern fashion does not just preserve local identity, but also opens sustainable livelihoods and grander platforms for indigenous weavers and homegrown designers alike.
The first-ever Fashion Design Competition, where South Cotabato’s rich cultural heritage took center stage as a tangible driver of economic opportunity.
The Tnalak Festival events like the fashion design competition instantly triggered a wave of nostalgia and pride across digital spaces.
Netizens and overseas South Cotabateños tuning in from abroad flooded the comment sections, expressing their deep longing to fly home, reunite with their families, and personally experience the grand festivities of the milestone 60th year.
(With reports from Jiri Var Estabillo. Photo credits to: Ruel Ambat)
