Mark Aldane "Mak" Velasco Tumang (; born November 10, 1986) is a Filipino

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

er. He is popularly known for the

Mayon gown Mayon gown is a red, high-slit dress made by Filipino fashion designer Mak Tumang and worn by Catriona Gray during the evening gown competition in Miss Universe 2018, which she won. The dress is also called Mayon Volcano gown as its design was in ...

and Ibong Adarna gown, dresses that he created for and worn by

Catriona Gray Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray ( ; ; born January 6, 1994) is a Filipino beauty queen and media personality best known for winning the title of Miss Universe 2018. The fourth Filipina to win Miss Universe, Gray was previously crowned Miss Worl ...

where she won the

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact, Muang Thong Thani, Impact Arena in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand, on 17 December 2018. At the conclusion of the event, Demi-Leigh Tebow, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of Sout ...

beauty pageant.

Personal life

Mak Tumang was born as Mark Aldane Velasco Tumang on November 10, 1986 in

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. 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 Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

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 Miss Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one ...

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

, 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 popular on social media. After the pageant, Gray wore Tumang's

sampaguita ''Jasminum sambac'' (Arabian jasmine or Sambac jasmine) is a species of jasmine native to Bhutan and India. It is cultivated in many places, especially West Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is naturalised in many scattered locales: Mauri ...

-inspired dress in her homecoming, "Perla Oriente" gown during a special event at

Smart Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed "the Big Dome" ...

, coral jumpsuit for her Manila press conference and "Alon" gown during a street parade held in

Cubao Cubao may refer to: * Cubao, Quezon City, a district of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines ** Araneta Center–Cubao station (LRT) on Line 2 ** Araneta Center–Cubao station (MRT) on Line 3 ** Cubao Cathedral The Immaculate Conceptio ...

Notable dresses

Other notable dresses that drew coverage in the media include Maymay Entrata's lava-inspired gown, Kylie Padilla's wedding dress, Imee Marcos' "La Filigrina" gown worn during President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2019, and Jillian Ward's galaxy-inspired gown worn during her Debut on February 25, 2023.

Exhibit

The Mayon 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 SM Mall of Asia (also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA; ), is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, located at Bay City, Metro Manila, Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila within the SM Central Business Park, a reclaimed area w ...

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."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tumang, Mak Living people Filipino fashion designers 1986 births People from Pampanga De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde alumni