For years I had wanted to create a design from a rice sack, partly because the phrase “it’s like wearing a sack” was derogatory & meant you looked anything but glamorous, and partly because rice–and rice sacks–are such an intrinsic, ubiquitous part of everyday life in the Philippines. So, a few months back, when Candy Dizon called to invite me to participate in a “Green Couture” show to raise awareness for the environment & the green movement (& raise funds for the benefit of the Waldorf school) I was thrilled. I finally had a reason & purpose for creating a rice sack dress!
Inspired by local folklore, I imagined a Rice Goddess…
…rising from a heap of rice sack remains. We started off with 20-25 rice sacks that we thoroughly washed & unraveled, before we painstakingly wove & sewed them back together again.
And the Rice Goddess rises once more!
*(Photos by Ito Ocampo)
