Anthony Cruz Legarda’s piña creations in SF gala, June 25

Cruz Legarda, (extreme right) a Filipino American fashion designer and textile technologist, incorporates authentic handwoven fabrics from the Philippines and Asia into distinctive American apparel. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO – Hand-woven Filipino fabrics are getting attention on global runways these days, thanks partly to fashion designers who are proud of Philippine indigenous weaves and to organizations such as The Hinabi Project (THP), which promotes, preserves and practices weaving arts in natural fiber.

For its first major exhibit of the year, THP together with KALAYAANSF, in collaboration with the San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center and SOMA Pilipinas, proudly present Anthony Cruz Legarda’s retrospective piña creations in a fashion show-gala on Saturday, June 25 at 6-10 p.m. at the San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center at 814 Mission Street, Mezzanine, in downtown San Francisco. The event is part of the 124^th anniversary celebration of Philippine Independence Day.

Cruz Legarda, a Filipino American fashion designer and textile technologist, incorporates authentic handwoven fabrics from the Philippines and Asia into distinctive American apparel. He also modernizes luxurious ethnic cloth for the eco-fashion world.

Cruz-Legarda is with Philippine-based organization CustomMade Crafts Center, which promotes and expands the market for fairly traded and sustainable Philippine indigenous handicrafts. He has also partnered with the Philippine Textile Research Institute in the development of innovative Philippine fabrics, which he transforms into authentic handwoven works of art.

His creations are on display at the San Francisco International Airport’s Museum at the Harvey Milk Terminal. It will run from April 18 to November 2022. His works have been featured globally since 2007, dressing the top 8 finalists in the Miss Earth beauty pageant.

Since then his eco-friendly clothing collection has been featured in several fashion shows in Manila, Shanghai, Rome, New York, San Francisco and many more. He has been a featured artist at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Guggenheim Museum Theater in New York City, and The World Trade Center. In the past few years, Cruz-Legarda has partnered with the Autism Hearts Foundation in showcasing art works of autistic kids and their colorful paintings on piña fabric from shawls, fans and Philippine traditional “ternos.”

Cruz-Legarda pursued a degree in Fashion Merchandising at the City College of San Francisco and furthered his education at the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, graduating in Fashion Design. For more information on the Piña Couture, please contact Maya Ong Escudero at [email protected]. Tickets are available at https://tinyurl.com/2ekukyut