Francis Libiran's warrior-inspired Sinag barong
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The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 is just a few hours away (July 27, 1:30 a.m.) and the world is anticipating what the City of Love has prepared for the event.
For the first time, the opening ceremony will not be held in a big stadium but rather on the River Seine. The famous river cuts through Paris and is a tourist destination itself. Visitors would go on cruises on the river, which offers a unique view of the French capital.
Because of the unique location of the ceremony, this posed a challenge for renowned Filipino fashion designer Francis Libiran when he was designing the opening ceremony outfit of the Philippine delegation.
In an interview with GMA Lifestyle, Francis shared, “From afar, you need to make it visually Filipino. Our barong tagalog is a beige polo from afar so how can you create something that's very iconic if it's just the barong?”
He mentioned that when the Philippine Olympic Committee asked him to design the opening ceremony outfit, its president, Abraham Tolentino, said that it has to be iconic because it is the Philippines' 100th-year participation in the international sporting event.
“I remember I got a call from Mayor (Abraham) Tolentino asking me, 'Francis, can you design something for our athletes for the Paris Olympics. It's our 100th-year participation in the Olympics.' That gave me more pressure designing it,” the designer explained.
The sketches of the Sinag barong / Source: Michael Paunlagui
Last week when the Sinag barong was revealed to the public, many lauded Francis for its beautiful and tasteful design. The barong is made of jusi piña fabric and it doesn't have the traditional embroidery on the main body of the garment except for the collar.
What's unique about the barong is the detachable sling, which Francis calls an “armor”. The sling is also made of jusi piña, in vibrant blue and red. Bright yellow thread is used in the embroidery.
“I thought of using the colors of the flag. I made use of vibrant blue and red and the sun rays going out on the…I call it an armor. The meaning behind it is our athletes are going to a battle and they carry with them the Philippines that is why I placed it closer to their hearts,” Francis said.
The sling is placed on the left shoulder and is secured by the left shoulder sleeve and a tricolor (blue, white, and red) band on the right chest. The sun rays design is also no ordinary embroidery, it was inspired by the pintados or ancient Filipino warrior tattoos.
“The sun embroidery was inspired by the pintados. I studied the pintados and the design is a [symbol] of bravery. So it's really meaningful for me that I was able to create that pattern, the sun rays into a pintados pattern,” he said.
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