Disheveled, she met him in the bus station in Isabela
Para Kay Nanay…, a conceptual fashion collection, narrates the multi-faceted journey of motherhood, each hand-stitched seam a manifestation of a son’s unconditional love and gratitude.
In June 2023, fashion design student Lance Ernest Rubio visited his hometown in Isabela for a project. He was surprised when his mother Agnesa met him in the bus station with fear in her eyes.
“She was wearing a very old dress—a pambahay—no bra, just a piece of towel wrapped around her shoulders to cover her up and protect her from the cold,” he recalled. “She had a belt bag around her waist with little money from selling eggs that day.”
Rubio realized she was running away from his father. He immediately brought her to a safe space—a hotel—where she was finally able to rest. Before she slept, she told him: “Yung pinangarap kong buhay, ‘yung pinaghirapan ko, mawawala lang nang ganoon (The life I dreamt of, I worked for, would vanish just like that).”
“I went back to Isabela that day only for a bridal fitting,” Rubio recalled. “Little did I know, a former bride, a wife—my mom—was escaping a marriage that has been punishing her and making her feel like a nobody.”
Rubio could not help but recall the many challenges his mother has faced to support the family. This served as his turning point—he decided to utilize his talent and platform to honor her.
For his debut collection in completion of his Fashion Design and Merchandising degree from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), the young artist launched Para Kay Nanay…, a conceptual line symbolizing Agnesa’s life.
“It is a series of trickled-up versions of the clothes she wore when she was experiencing hardships,” Rubio explained. “Incorporated in these garments are significant materials that have been part of her routine, many of which are as fragile as her, but also made her stronger.”
The trials of his mother, particularly her hard work to maintain the small business that supported the family, served as the focal point of Rubio’s design process.
This included Agnesa’s day-to-day wardrobe, from the checkered button-down and gardening hat she sported when she tended to the itikan, to the go-to shirt, gloves, and apron she used when preparing salted eggs.
The thorough procedure was reflected in the sustainable creation of the collection, as Rubio used the reddish-brown mud from their family’s salted egg venture to bring a rich and natural color and texture to the garments.
Another technique was borax crystallization, where crystals “grow” on the fabric, symbolizing the importance of rock salt in their livelihood. He utilized the magenta dye to add vibrance to his pieces.
Para Kay Nanay… introduced five looks. Itlog na Pula comes with an apron and gloves dyed in crystalline and sheep skin leather pants with pannier. Doon sa Itikan has a sheep skin leather cap with crystalized veil matched with button-down with mud-dyed layered skirt.
Buro has a crystallized, corset skirt in mud-dyed lace. ‘Balutan’ has a crystallized veil in red egg dye and white lace gown.
Named after his mother, Agnesa was inspired by the “daster” she wore on the harrowing evening of June 2023. It includes a draped dress in hand-pleated and mud-dyed chiffon and a hand-frayed shawl in white textured chiffon.
“These clothes are about seeing the beauty in simplicity, finding new ideas from old traditions, and turning memories into designs,” Rubio explained. “It shows even ordinary materials can become something special. It honors the hands that worked with mud and salt to raise me.”
“Each of these techniques was born from curiosity—the desire to merge personal history with design innovation. The hope lives in every crystal, every dyed fiber, every hand-stitched seam that reminds me that the story of my mother, and the stories of women like her, deserve to be seen, remembered, and celebrated.”
