On his wedding day, Lenard Santos wore a barong tagalog themed after Pokémon, particularly the fiery Charmander and its evolution line. His OOTD is currently making rounds on social media thanks to its modern motif that strikes a chord with fans of the anime. Preview chatted with Santi Obcena, the local designer behind the piece, and got all the deets on it.
LOOK: Lenard Santos Gets Married in Pokemon-Themed Barong Tagalog
Santi met the groom through the bride, and was tapped to create something special for their second nuptials ceremony. In a Facebook post, Lenard expressed that his wedding was the perfect avenue to have something inspired by his favorite Pokémon.
The piece was a standard barong tagalog with a lifted collar and intricate embroidery details. "We used a traditional barong material, pina cocoon in a natural color, and opted for Japan Shantung as a lining. I researched the figures [of the Pokémon] and manually drew them, adding flourishes here and there to make the layout more cohesive and classy," Santi shares about the process.
The seemingly small details were what really made the piece so special. Aside from the illustrations and Okir-inspired flames on the front of the barong, Poké Balls were also stitched on each cuff.
The back of the collar spelled out the word "alab," meaning fire, in Baybayin, which was Santi's personal touch to the look. "The essence [of the] word at the back of the collar is for personal growth and more fire in their marriage in the years to come," he says.
Overall, Santi aimed to come up with something "classy and quirky, just like the groom." The designer was elated to hear of all of the positive feedback about his work, as it shows how people have embraced more modern iterations of Filipiniana attire.
"People have an opportunity to find themselves in the Filipiniana that they wear, which is a better alternative to the ready-made and traditional pieces available in the market," he shares. "I'm happy and grateful that the barong opened a lot of conversations, proving that Philippine fashion still has a lot of room for exploring, experimenting, and merging with other artistic disciplines and themes."
On the oft-debated topic of "modernizing" our heritage garments, Santi is firm in his stance that "the future of the Filipiniana rests in the power to marry the old with the new."Citing Lenard's personalized barong as an example, Santi says that the interests we have in today's world should be reflected through our clothes.
"We take integral parts of what we can embrace [from the past] and translate them into pieces that honor who we were. It is important to dress the Filipinos [of today] while honoring the ones who came before," he expresses. Hear, hear!
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