Designer Francis Libiran on making Tyra look skinny, and finding his work on 'America's Next Top Model'

MANILA, Philippines - Red carpet favorite Francis Libiran is on a roll. From next week’s MetroWear to the upcoming Fashion Watch, Libiran is everywhere. And now that his work has been spotted on Tyra Banks at the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s fourth annual Blossom Ball, which landed Banks on the best dressed list, Libiran can finally say that his work has been seen everywhere — thanks to the number of eyeballs that scanned Banks’ garb on fashion sites online.

YStyle talks to Libiran about making it in America and working with the biggest diva of them all... Hello Kitty.

YSTYLE: How did your dress get on Tyra?

FRANCIS LIBIRAN: The gown she wore to the Blossom Ball? Through (America’s Next Top Model producer) Michael Carandang. When I went to the US in October, I brought two gowns with me. It was actually just a gift for Tyra. I made them not knowing she’d wear one to the Blossom Ball. Then a few weeks ago, Michael called me up saying, “Your gown — the one Tyra wore — landed best dressed!” I got so excited, looked it up on the Internet, and there it was.

How did you decide on the kind of dress to make for Tyra? What do you make for a woman like that?

I researched. What kind of gowns does Tyra wear? I think she looks great in form-fitting dresses. I wanted to put in my signature look, which is details in the lines. Tyra is curvy, so I wanted to highlight that too.

Yeah, she has a bombshell body.

Yes, and one thing nice about her body is that it’s well-proportioned. It’s the first thing I noticed. You see her, but then you check her measurements and you go, “Really? Those are her measurements?”

She’s like a curvy Barbie, no?

Purr-fect: Libiran has a Hello Kitty moment on America’s Next Top Model, fashioning fantastical pieces out of lunch boxes, toothbrushes and plenty more Hello Kitty merch. One dress weighed close to 40 pounds.

Yes, she is — with a very nice, small face. And her eyes! Like a cat’s.

It’s funny, because Tyra’s a beautiful girl, but her style goes to the extremes, right? Either she’s well-dressed, or she… ain’t. (Laughs)

That’s why she never lands best dressed! (Laughs) So when Michael called me up telling me she won best dressed, he said, “Francis, Tyra never lands best dressed, until you dressed her up.” And I was, like, “Really?”

I mean, how hard can it be to dress a supermodel? What was your approach to designing her gown?

I began with a strapless gown, so I wanted it form-fitting on her. It has a sweetheart neckline in nude and black. I put my signature look on it — line details. I was thinking of her form. I thought the lines would play a big part in making her look really slim. Which they did. The second gown was royal blue in a stretch tulle material, but this time with no boning. So she just had to wear Spanx. (Laughs) But still with the lines.

So you were able to meet her?

Yes! During the taping of the judging of the episode. I met up with her, showed her the gown, and said, ”I made this specifically for you.” She was so happy and called her stylist, Tina Leroux. I explained the concept, why I designed it for her. Tyra was so interested, and she really took time to listen.

How would you describe Tyra? What was your first impression?

I was waiting for her in the corner, and all of a sudden, she was there in the hallway walking. I came up to her, I was shaking! (Laughs) I was very nervous, like what if she’s a snob?

Are you a fan of the show? Do you watch it?

I watch the show, and I’m a big fan of Tyra.

So take us through this whole process. How did you end up on the show?

Michael Carandang e-mailed me early last year, asking me if I wanted to do a challenge on America’s Next Top Model. I said, “Sure!” At first, it was a wrestling outfit. (Laughs) I said, “That’s not my style.” But I needed to do it. This was my chance to be seen in the States, abroad. So whatever the challenge was, I needed to make it work. Even though it was a wrestling outfit, I needed to make it stand out.

Who’s on top: Tyra, flanked by Ditto Arcellana and Francis Libiran

Mike had so many e-mails saying, “We’ll change it to this, we’ll change it to that.” There were, like, four changes. I went, “Mike! Our time is running out. Give me a heads up about the final decision.” So he was like, “Okay, this is the final decision: Hello Kitty. You’ll do a Hello Kitty portion, it’s Tyra’s favorite character. “

I thought I was gonna be given Hello Kitty fabric. But then he said, “We’ll send in lunch boxes, stuffed animals, toothbrushes, items of Sanrio. You can choose from Sanrio’s website.” So I did, but it took a while to ship it here, maybe a good three weeks. So I only had two weeks to make the gowns! Plus, everything was shipped the one week I went to L.A. So everything was done in a week.

All Hello Kitty-inspired?

Yes. At first, when I submitted my designs to Michael, I made it, you know, my traditional glamorous, red carpet style with bits of Hello Kitty so it’s wearable. But then Michael said Tyra didn’t want it wearable. If we have to put lunchboxes on the gown, do it! They don’t care if the model finds it difficult to wear. So that’s what I did. It took a week conceptualizing everything.

Imagine, designing an item out of pictures from the Internet. There’s no dimension, no proportion. When the items came in, they looked totally different! I had to do a whole different design. I thought, Ano ba ‘to! My time was running out. So that week, I had to work with no sleep at all, and meet up with clients at the same time. I had a team who helped me out. My architect friend, Ditto Arcellana, helped me with the structure, ‘cause the stuff was heavy. You couldn’t just sew it on, they had to have a mechanism underneath to hold it up.

So it’s a structure?

It’s a structure. We collaborated on it — what framing to use, how to make it stand. Make sure the model won’t trip, you know.

So, your aesthetic, was it more Tokyo meets K-Pop?

Yeah, and we didn’t want it to be like stuffed animals thrown onto one gown. We wanted to be different.

How’d it turn out?

Libiran’s favorite outfit from the shoot: “It’s feminine. It’s still me.”

We made one outfit McQueen-inspired. It had metal frames, and I wrapped it with sheer stretch material. And underneath the skirt, we put Hello Kitty stuffed animals. And there are toothbrushes, Pez candy dispensers, and Hello Kitty face mirrors.

Cute. So it’s very ‘80s fantasy land?

Yeah, that’s the concept. For the plus-size model, I thought, form-fitting won’t work. So I made use of a kimono made of tissue paper. Those blocks of patterns, it’s not fabric. We made patterns out of tissue paper that we cut into squares. We fused them, and put another layer of sheer material so it won’t rip easily.

It’s like an art project and fashion collab.

I didn’t want it to look like a high school project. As a designer I had to make it pulido, so it has that wow factor.

You practically need a winch to put it on her.

Actually there’s a strap. You know the kind used by window cleaners? I used that as a base.

What has this experience taught you?

So much!

Do you hate Hello Kitty now? Are you sick of her?

Yes, I’m very sick of her. (Laughs) Actually before the showing of ANTM, when I landed in San Francisco, there was a kid holding Hello Kitty, then when I turned there was a Hello Kitty sticker on a car. I’m like, “It’s following me!”

What feedback have you gotten? 

When I got to the L.A. studio, the Sanrio team met up with me. And the president of Sanrio USA. He’s American. He went, “Francis, we’re so amazed at what you did with Hello Kitty! No one has ever done this for us. Maybe after it’s aired, we might put it in an exhibit in New York.” And they were so impressed with what we did in a short amount of time, because they know how the shipping was delayed.

Being in the studio, it’s both fashion and film coming together. What was that like?

At first, I wasn’t used to having cameras all over, with people directing you what to do. My business there was just to dress up the models and go home. But during the taping, there was a control booth where we watched the whole segment.

How did the models react upon seeing the clothes?

When they went on the set, their eyes went wide! They were like, “We’re modeling that?!”

How heavy were the dresses?

I was carrying the lunchboxes, and I was struggling. And I work out already!

About 10 pounds?

More! About 40 pounds.

So the models had to carry 40, 50 pounds? Well, they say you have to suffer for fashion, right?

Especially the wig. (The model) commented, “I wanna throw it out on the parking lot!” I was worried because it made a mark on her forehead. But she’s one of the best. She was wearing that heavy wig on her head, and she had to hold a lantern too. But that’s the challenge (for the models), to look beautiful even though the gowns are heavy.

You’ve really come full circle. You started in showbiz, right? And now you’re back in showbiz again. You kind of reentered the arena, but on a much bigger scale.

It’s overwhelming. Not all designers are given this privilege. That’s America’s Next Top Model! So even though I was busy with weddings and dressing up artistas, I told my partner, Arsi Baltazar, I will accept the challenge. Last year was so hectic for us — Star Magic, Fashion Watch, Sound of Music. One after the other. And the lesson there is you just really need to focus. Learn how to delegate tasks to your teams.

After this, if you’re asked to enter showbiz, will you consider it?

In what way? (Laughs)

In any way. Or is fashion really where your heart lies?

I think fashion, definitely. I love fashion so much.

Why did you shift from showbiz to fashion?

Iyon yung heart ko eh. I love creating things. I graduated architecture in UST, got tired from it and thought, I really want to be a designer. I like to dress up, you know? And I think I’ll shine more in the field I’m passionate about.

Growing up, who were the women who inspired you?

My mom. Her style is very classy. She would take me to her costurera, and she would ask me, “Anak, bagay ba?” So I would criticize it. And in my teens, I would go with my dad to his tailor to have a suit made. At an early age, I was exposed and I learned to dress up well — that clothes make you feel happy, and you have to present yourself in a good way. It’s the upbringing of my parents that influenced me.

So now you never leave home without a hair out of place?

Yes. (Laughs) Even at the gym, (my look) has to be coordinated. Even my bag. It’s just me, I think. You feel happy when everything is put together properly. And the confidence level is different, ‘di ba? If I go to work and my shirt is too tight and I’m not comfortable, I really go back home first to change. To feel better.

Now that you’ve done this, who’s another foreign celebrity you would love to dress and why?

Brad and Angelina.

Hopefully without the side slit.

Yeah, front na. (Laughs)

What happens now? Say, a young girl comes up to you and says, “Francis, please design my prom gown. I want it to be Hello Kitty.”

I would! For me, when I’m given a challenge, that’s when my ideas come. I don’t like quitting. Say, if someone asks me to make clothes out of a sheet of metal, I would do it. I like challenging myself. It’s me as an artist. How (can I) make something ordinary extraordinary?

For the next Fashion Watch, will we be experiencing metal dresses?

 (Laughs) No, it’ll be something wearable.

* * *

Francis Libiran’s episode on America’s Next Top Model will air this Monday, April 30, 8 p. m., on ETC.