Introduction
Mark Aldane "Mak" Velasco Tumang is a Filipino fashion designer. He is popularly known for the Mayon gown and Ibong Adarna gown, dresses that he created for and worn by Catriona Gray when she competed in the Miss Universe 2018 beauty pageant.
Personal life
Tumang, born in Pampanga, Philippines, is the son of Mexico town mayor Teddy Tumang. He took up Theater Design and Production Design at De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde and studied a week-long couture embroidery course at Central Saint Martins.
Fashion
Background
In interviews, Tumang shared that his interest in fashion started through his grandmother's skills in dressmaking, his voluntary design work in stage plays during high school, and experience in creating vestments for religious statues.
In college, he was part of a theater group who introduced him and invited him to attend fashion events. Joining the Philippine Fashion Design Competition in 2007, he submitted an abaca dress as entry. In 2009, he won the Miss Earth Eco-Fashion Design Competition for coral reef-inspired, white abaca dress.
His atelier is located in Mexico, Pampanga.
Beauty pageant gowns
Gray wore his dress called "Sinag" gown during the Binibining Pilipinas 2018 contest where she won Best in Long Gown special prize.
Tumang became popular for the dresses he made for Catriona Gray for the Miss Universe 2018 pageant and that partly contributed to her success in the said contest. Voltaire Tayag of Rappler commented that the Mayon gown, the dress Gray wore during the evening gown contest, made him a household name. Another creation known as the Ibong Adarna gown, which Gray wore in the preliminary round, received media coverage and became viral on social media.
After the pageant, Gray wore Tumang's sampaguita-inspired dress in her homecoming, "Perla Oriente" gown during a special event at Smart Araneta Coliseum, coral jumpsuit for her Manila press conference and "Alon" gown during a street parade held in Cubao.
Notable dresses
Other notable dresses that drew coverage in the media include Maymay Entrata's lava-inspired gown, Kylie Padilla's wedding dress and Imee Marcos' "La Filigrina" gown worn during President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2019.
Exhibit
TheMayon gown, Ibong Adarna gown, and Sinag gown were displayed on an exhibit held at SM City Pampanga in December 2018. From March 16 to 23, his dresses were on an SM Mall of Asia exhibit called Universe: Celebration of World Class Talent.
Reception
Reviewing Tumang's work, Manila Bulletin's Mark Samson wrote, "His masterful play in working with silk tulles, lace appliques, and crystal accents displays sophisticatedly daring details fit for a modern day princess... Each creation from his atelier to fashion runway exhibits holds the signature Mak Tumang qualities–elaborate designs, intricate embroidery, and detailed lacework."