Francis and his fantastic gowns
Francis Libiran’s newest wedding gown collection fulfills Everywoman’s fantasy.
English dramatist and writer Douglas William Jerrold said it best: “There is something about a wedding gown prettier than any other gowns in the world.”
You don’t need to look far for proof. In the recent Top 10 Prettiest Celebrity Wedding Gowns list, made by spot.ph, Maricar Reyes landed the top spot in her blinged-out ball gown created by master couturier Francis Libiran. Mrs. Poon looked delicate and divine in his creation made from soft tulle and heavy layers of silk organdy with intricate embroiled lace and embellished Swarovski crystals. In classic Francis Libiran fashion, the gown evokes elegance, much like the iconic dresses the designer made for Miss World Megan Young and international supermodel Tyra Banks’s evening dress that gave her a place in the Best Dressed list in the annual Blossom Ball in New York.
At the recent fashion show staged in The Peninsula Manila, Francis reinvented the wedding gown silhouette women thought they already knew. The Maricar Reyes gown last year was only a preview. In his creations were pocketed serpentina long gowns (“So you can stash your cellphone and checkbook,” Francis says, laughing) and sheer and sexy and lightweight mermaid silhouettes. There is one requirement: A pair of sexy nude underwear. Francis brings to centerstage the “leg veil” fashion trend dominating Hollywood’s red carpets, where ladies wear floor-length dresses with legs on peek-a-boo, thanks to sheer material. Model Alessandra Ambrosio was photographed strutting the leg veil trend at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Actress Jennifer Larence also wore a sheer grey Dior floor length ball gown at the Hunger Games: Catching Fire LA premiere. But unlike Rihanna’s raunchy sheer crystal gown the singer recently wore for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)—which left nothing to the imagination—Francis’s are done with taste, and are wedding appropriate. His are dreamy creations with sheer sexy back, sheer sleeves, or sheer leg veil.
For the more conservative, there are full-embellished, high neck gowns that spell classic yet modern. Francis plays with blush, white, and off-white colors.
In the Bride Wars movie, Liv Lerner (Kate Hudson) exclaims while fitting her wedding gown, “You don’t alter Vera (Wang) to fit you, you alter yourself to fit Vera!” But in Francis’s case, any woman of shape and size can perfectly fit in his pieces. In Christian Dior’s words, “A dress is a piece of ephemeral architecture designed to enhance the proportions of the female body.” From the thinnest to the curviest runway brides like Shamcey Supsup and Iza Calzado, the women owned the catwalk thanks to their elaborate gowns that emphasized their shapes. “I was thinking of different kinds of women—different shapes and different insecurities—when I did my designs, hence the variations of style. I want to show off their figure. Some are figure hugging, some are Princess cut. I really want to highlight their shapes and sizes because weddings are very special so I always put my energy to it,” says Francis.
The models’ “no makeup” makeup and simple chignon hairstyle complemented and completed the whole look.
For the dashing grooms, actors Sam Milby, EJ Falcon, Christian Bautista, and Jake Cuenca, all looked dapper and Mr. Sleek and Suave—much credit to their crisp and clean-cut tailor-made suits. The materials are made from velvet and wool.
Libiran’s favorite? Everything. “They’re all like my babies, it’s hard to choose.” Yes, Francis, we feel you.
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