Fashioning elite Filipino identity: Filipina dress as expressions of civilisation and national solidarity in the early 20th century

Abstract

Under American colonial rule, the people of the Philippines were characterised as uncivilised savages. The perception of Filipinos as savages was proliferated through textual and visual depictions of Filipino nakedness in popular media and through world fair exhibitions. As a response against the American ‘gaze,’ Filipinos used dress to present a counter-narrative of Filipino civilization and modernity. This thesis argues that elite Filipinas used dress to challenge American subjugation through (1) challenging American perceptions of people in the Philippines as uncivilised and inferior and (2) using elite Filipina dress as a symbol of nationalism. Through dress, elite Filipinos conveyed a national identity that stressed Filipino modernity and civilization, emphasising that American ‘guidance’ and colonial rule was unnecessary. While there have been some scholarly work on elite Filipina dress in the early 20th century, this thesis departs from previous literature by illustrating how the terno—the dress commonly worn by elite Filipinas—came to represent a modern national identity for Filipinos through examinations of the terno’s use of textiles and fabrics, and instances where Filipinas used the terno to negotiate their place in racial hierarchies. This thesis highlights the insight of studying dress at times of emerging nationalist sentiments and provides a more nuanced understanding of nationalist movements.