For her collection Tailored Traditions, Lulu Tan-Gan reworks a traditional textile for wardrobes that extend well past weddings and formal occasions.
This November, Lulu Tan-Gan brings Tailored Traditions to her first pop-up at Power Plant Mall. Here, she presents a collection of piña shirts, barongs, and vests that reconsider how the traditional Filipino textile fits into a modern wardrobe. After two decades spent developing more wearable versions of the fabric, the designer is making a case for piña that travels as well as it dresses.
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A Fabric With A Dress Code
Piña has always been associated with weddings, state occasions, and formal gatherings, its delicate weave often demanding careful handling and a dedicated trip to the dry cleaner. Tan-Gan, colloquially known throughout fashion circles as the “Queen of Knits,” saw an opportunity to loosen those conventions. Her latest collection applies her approach to the everyday wardrobe, using dye, print, beading, pleating, and draping to introduce new colors and textures while preserving the fabric’s distinctive character.
The shift began with a question about her own identity as a designer. After spending two decades developing hand-loomed knitwear, she asked herself: “What makes me a Filipino designer?” Her father’s barong and the Barge Ramos pieces she admired prompted her to explore piña, leading to the development of PiñaWear.
Lulu Tan-Gan On Finding Her Filipino Identity In Fashion
Tan-Gan’s interest in practical clothing predates the current conversation around sustainable fashion. She began working with hand looms to create garments that followed the body’s shape, and her hand-loomed pieces appeared at Paris Fashion WeekFashion WeekA recurring event, held in cities such as Paris, Milan, New York, and London, where designers present upcoming collections to buyers, editors, and celebrities. Fashion weeks set the direction ofGo to Fashion Week Glossary in 1983. At the time, she wanted to make “fashionable pieces for career women like myself who needed practical and stylish options.”
That same thinking informs her work with piña. “I started to develop piña into washable, fluid textiles,” she says. “I designed and engineered it for easier packing and travel.” Through precise cutting and unlined construction, she allows the textile to drape naturally, making its sheerness part of the design. She also prioritizes material efficiency, finding satisfaction in the process itself. “I love the crisp sound while cutting,” she says, explaining her commitment to using every inch of the weave.
For Tailored Traditions, the designer applies that approach to barongs, oversized dress shirts, and vests. Campaign images show a long, sheer coat patterned with black triangles and grids over a cropped top and printed trousers, with a scarf knotted at the neck. The styling places piña in a contemporary context, away from the conventions that have historically restricted its use.
Luxury Without The Fuss
Tan-Gan calls the collection “artisanalArtisanalMade in small batches by skilled hands using traditional or carefully honed methods, rather than mass production. In luxury, artisanal products, from handwoven textiles to craft chocolate, carry a storyGo to Artisanal Glossary fashion that embodies understated luxury.” She adds, “In a world often obsessed with extravagance, true luxury resonates to those who understand the value of refinement.”
Her work also connects the finished garment to the provincial farms and weaving communities that sustain piña production. She calls this approach “farm-to-fashion” and sees it as part of a broader move toward a circular fashion industry. According to her, “Tradition thrives when it evolves through contemporary participation.”
“With the rising interest in piña, I feel that I have come full circle,” she says.
“Tailored Traditions” opens this November on the second floor of Power Plant Mall. For more information, visit @tan_gan on Instagram.
Photos courtesy of Before Deadlines and TAN-GAN
Frequently Asked Questions
Lulu Tan-Gan is a Filipino fashion designer known as the Queen of Knits. She is recognized for her hand-loomed knitwear and work with traditional Filipino piña textiles.
Tailored Traditions is a collection of piña shirts, barongs, and vests that reimagines traditional Filipino textiles through contemporary silhouettes, prints, dyeing, beading, pleating, and draping.
Tailored Traditions will be available at Lulu Tan-Gan’s pop-up on the second floor of Power Plant Mall this November. More information is available on Instagram at @tan_gan.
Lulu Tan-Gan develops washable, fluid piña textiles designed for easier packing and travel. She uses precise cutting and unlined construction to help the fabric drape naturally and suit contemporary clothing styles.
Lulu Tan-Gan connects her designs to the provincial farms and weaving communities that sustain piña production. Her farm-to-fashion approach emphasizes material efficiency, traditional craftsmanship, and evolving Filipino textile traditions through contemporary design.
