After its resurgence in the past years, the terno has become a staple of Filipino style. Beyond its usual appearances at formal events, the terno—and the Filipiniana in general—has undergone many metamorphoses, from chic casual iterations to pieces imbued with traditional tapestries and innovative textiles. This time, the Filipiniana takes on another transformation in the form of athleisure.

Ternocon, an annual event that puts the spotlight on the Filipino traditional dress led by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and retail giant Bench, gathered six Filipino fashion designers to reimagine the iconic Filipinowear through a more youthful and sporty lens. The goal is to make it more approachable for the younger generation, giving it a more playful energy and street-style sensibility. On Oct. 8, 2025, through the Ternocon Palaro show, designers Hannah Adrias, Glyn Alley Magtibay, Len Cabili (of Filip + Inna), Renz Reyes, Carl Jan Cruz, and Jo Ann Bitagcol presented their designs at SM Supermalls’ MOA Sky Football Pitch in Pasay City—an ample playground for the style fest.

Dubbed “Pep,” Ternocon 2020 winner Hannah Adrias’ collection is inspired by the best moments of high school. Her looks center on retro athleisure, incorporating inabel fabrics, cotton, and organdy translated into modern barongs and jackets reminiscent of windbreakers. One of her standout pieces features a roping technique that spells out her last name—a nod to varsity jackets.

“It's a conversation between the classic Filipino silhouette and the vibrant, carefree world of retro athleisure,” Hannah explains. “The thought that came to mind when they asked us to make this collection was, ‘What if the terno was something you could just hang out in? What if it was cool, colorful, and just comfortable?’ That's where the collection circled on.”

The idea of games and gambits is the central theme of Oriental Mindoro–hailed designer Glyn Alley Magtibay’s collection. Her creative process started with intramurals as inspiration, particularly the muses and ace players. A highlight of her collection is a kimono ensemble that mirrors a game of chess. Another is a barong look adorned with stitching details reminiscent of a baseball seam. The collection incorporates piña, cotton, yakan, hablon, sport mesh, nylon taslan, and dry-fit fabric—making it a true medley of Filipino heritage and sports.

“I combined sportswear fabrics with native Filipino textiles,” Glyn muses. “The result is a collection that merges athletics with heritage, creating a fusion that speaks to the modern generation—fresh, relevant, yet deeply rooted in Filipino identity.”

Renz Reyes’ collection takes a more couture approach, reimagining the Filipiniana structure through unusual, sculptural forms. His designs feature 3D textures and “larger-than-life figures akin to athletes and their god-like sensibilities.”

“Translated through our signature structure and a contemporary direction on embroidery and textures—bridging craftsmanship with modernity, translating the codes of the terno into forms that speak to today’s movement,” Renz explains. “The collection is a celebration of how sport is fashion. And like sports, the terno is as relevant as can be.”

Staying true to her design codes, model, photographer, and designer Jo Ann Bitagcol presented a collection that’s boxy, easy, and bursting with colors and patterns. Her “Liga” collection features ensembles that combine stripes and checkered prints, complemented by her photographs of ternos and barongs.

“I believe we’ve been doing this approach since we launched our scarves, t-shirts, barongs, and sporty kimonas,” Jo Ann says. “We are fortunate that our brand DNA matched the concept of the Ternocon Palaro.”

For her Palaro take on Filipinowear, noted designer Len Cabili looked to Filipinos’ all-time favorite sport—basketball. Her collection is inspired by her passion for the game, which she shared with her father, and by her days cheering for the UP Maroons back in college. The color orange and the idea of the parabola—the trajectory of a basketball—are among the central elements of her designs, which incorporate inabel, abaca-silk blends from Cebu, plaid cotton, ikat fabric from Ifugao, and knit.

“Orange is a dominant color to pick up on basketball, whether it’s in the pattern of the garment, design details, the overall shape, or the movement of each piece,” Len says. “This collection showcases a different side of our brand—one that is playful and current yet distinctly Filipino.”

Carl Jan Cruz’s design sensibility has always been a dialogue between personal past and present. That sense is evident in his collection, which plays with nostalgia and gives new life to found objects. His pieces feature vintage Bench t-shirts, old bed sheets, and fabrics such as pique, shantung, Italian cotton, and crepe—dyed, crinkled, and patched—breathing new life not only into the Filipiniana but also into existing materials.

“When creating this collection, the team was intentional in self-referencing and dissecting codes from personal memory,” Carl explains. “By exploring childhood photographs and style influences from that time and comparing them to current garment studies, the team aimed to blend these histories and create a collection for the contemporary Filipino.”