At the upcoming Miss Universe contest,organizers have designated a segment for candidates from different nations to wear dresses made of the textile produced mainly by Moro communities in the Philippines. Inaul is a hand woven fabric/textile that will take the center stage at the event.

The Department of Tourism (DOT)-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Secretary Ayesha Mangudadatu-Dilangalen said that Filipino fashion designer Renee Salud visited the ARMM booth at the recently held Philippine Travel Mart to announce that the Inaul fabric as well as the Yakan tribe’s equivalent traditional textile will be used by candidates of the Miss Universe pageant set in Manila on Jan. 30, 2017.

Inaul is a hand-woven fabric from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), particularly in the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur where dozens of households continued to fabricate such textile in various colors and designs for decades as a matter of tradition and a source of livelihood.

It is used as a “malong”, a tubular skirt or “sarong” that wraps around the lower part of the body and worn as traditional dress by both men and women.

The people of Cotabato city take pride in the Inaul because it represent their vibrant cultural heritage. The elegance of the fabric and its colour express the Maguindanao state of being in a way that no other piece of garment can.