MANILA, Philippines — Celebrity fashion designer Francis Libiran brought his “promise of forever” to Fili Hotel Nustar Cebu. In a collection he calls “Covenant,” Libiran’s brand of bridal glamor graced the ballroom of the country’s “first authentic Filipino five-star hotel.”
“Covenant" is part of “Beloved,” the first and annual bridal and celebrations fair at Nustar Resorts Cebu. Fili is the first of three hotel towers to rise in the development, touted as the pioneering integrated resort in Cebu by Robinsons Hotels and Resorts.
“’Covenant’ is a promise [by a couple who are getting married. That's why I named it ‘Covenant.’ It's like the covenant of two people falling in love with each other,” Libiran explained.
“If you see the first portion, it's all about lace. The second portion is about minimalist. The third is very embellished. And the last part is so Filipino, wherein it's all embroidered, no embellishments. So it's like treating brides in all different types of details that we use,” he added.
New techniques unveiled
After doing collections for 25 years, Libiran said this collection has a different approach: “I want it to be wearable and at the same time the technique is different. By using traditional French laces, embellishments, minimalist gowns, and the last part, which is Filipino embroidery.”
More than introducing new techniques, Libiran focused on the construction.
“More of like the construction of the undergarments inside. So it's more of like the techniques in embroidery, beading, and lace patchwork.
“There's a lot of colors also. So the third part is more of like a blush color. So I want to reach out to the brides who don’t want pure white, but they just want a very light blush color for their wedding dress. For the last part, the embroidered one, it's also a blush, but the color of the embroidery is piña. So it's more Filipino,” said Libiran.
For the groom
“The are different types of guys, like grooms. Like the first part, grooms can wear laces, you know, on their special day. For the third portion, this guy's wearing more of like a pearl tuxedo. And the last part is like a piña fabric with embroidery. So I'm trying to stay away from the traditional and giving more options to the grooms in terms of dressing up for the special day,” the dashing designer said.
Touting itself as the Philippines’ "first authentic Filipino five-star hotel," Fili “promises the global charm of Filipino hospitality, and accommodations where luxury and Filipino care are experienced in every detail.” It is envisioned as a chain that will expand and operate in Metro Manila, with a property in Bridgetown in Quezon City, and other parts of the country and Southeast Asia.
“I have a lot of Cebu brides from the past 25 years that I've started. Sometimes they fly in, they're very sweet, they know what they want. And they're very sure of what styles they want,” said Libiran.
“Since I've been working with Nustar, from the very start we did their uniforms for the hotel. So we had that relationship. And when we proposed about having a bridal show in Cebu, and said we need to do something that's very historical, and that's what happened tonight.
“What we did here is something very special, by making the ballrooms in black. So we did a concept wherein it's non-traditional. Usually the bridal fairs are all in pastel or in white colors. But we did the opposite way, by making it all black so that everything stands out,” the designer said.
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