Josie Natori, a native of the Philippines, has received what is regarded as the highest honor for a Filipino civilian, the Lakandula award.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of the Philippines, presented the Order of Lakandula to Natori during a ceremony March 7 at Malacanang Palace in Manila. Among those attending was Natori’s husband, Kenneth, her parents, Angelita and Felipe Cruz, several other relatives and two Filipino politicians — Joe De Venecia, Speaker of the House, and Sen. Dick Gordon.
The award ceremony was combined with a celebration of International Women’s Day, when 1,000 women from various villages turned out in Filipino costumes.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Natori, recalling when she learned she had been selected for the honor. “I was told ‘The president of the Philippines is calling you from Hong Kong.’ I picked up the phone and she said, ‘We’re going to give you an award,’ and I said ‘Oh, yes — what for?'”
The Order of Lakandula is bestowed upon Filipinos or foreign citizens who have demonstrated exceptional skill and dedication to their craft for the welfare of their people and society. It focuses on literature, entertainment, science and the arts, which includes fashion.
“Over the past several years, I started going back to the Philippines with the idea of anything I could do to inspire and help and give back. There’s so much design talent there,” said Natori, who founded the Fashion & Design Council of the Philippines in 1995 to “galvanize the fashion industry.”
“By working with the government, we were able to get funding for professors from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to teach design students in the Philippines,” she said.