Darren Criss Proudly Honored His Filipino Roots By Wearing A Francis Libiran Barong At His Wedding
In case you missed it, the multi-awarded actor Darren Criss just tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Mia Swier last week in a 4-day celebration in New Orleans.
Known for his character as Blaine Warbler in Glee and his serial killer character Andrew Cunanan in The Assasination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story—where he made history when he became the first Filipino-American to win a Golden Globe—we couldn’t help but be proud when this half-Pinoy honored his Filipino roots on his wedding day by wearing a custom-made Barong Tagalog by local designer Francis Libiran.
During the wedding ceremony, Darren wore an off-white Giorgio Armani while Mia stunned in a strapless Vera Wang wedding gown. And it was at the wedding reception when Darren changed into Francis Libiran custom-made Barong Tagalog, and Mia slipped into another Vera Wang dress.
"We are on Vogue @vogue @voguemagazine! Take a look at multi-awarded Hollywood actor Darren Criss’ (@darrencriss) most talked about wedding where he wore a custom-made @FrancisLibiran Barong Tagalog celebrating his union with Mia Swier,” Francis proudly shared this post with a snap of Darren wearing the Barong Tagalog with his now-wife, Mia Swier.
In the photo below, you'll see Darren dancing with his Filipino mother, Cerina during his wedding day. If you can remember, last January, Darren dedicated his Golden Globes award to her, whom he described as a "firecracker Filipino woman from Cebu." “I am so enormously proud to be a teeny, tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipino woman from Cebu that dreamed of coming to this country and getting to be invited to cool parties like this,” he said on his speech.
For more details, we talked to fashion designer Francis Libiran and here, he shared how hands on and how they were communicating up to the fitting with Darren. Scroll further to see!
Metro.Style: When and how did you meet Darren Criss?
Francis Libiran: I met Darren Criss last January at the Golden Globe Awards in Hollywood. I had the privilege of partying and celebrating with him during the afterparties at the Globes.
MS: How did he approach you to make a Barong Tagalog for his wedding day?
FL: On January 19, my business partner and manager Arsi Baltazar was contacted by Ashley Weston, the official stylist of Darren Criss asking if we can create a modern design of the Barong Tagalog for Darren’s wedding.
MS: Can you walk us through the process of making this particular piece? How did you do the fittings?
FL: We were communicating on every detail upto the fitting. They simply wanted us to create an amazing design of the Barong Tagalog . I was thinking that it would be really nice for Darren to wear a traditional button-down Barong embroidered with Art Deco-patterned threadwork — a Francis Libiran signature design. We sent several design options and he chose two. During the fitting last February 5, he loved both designs but could not decide which one he was going to wear, and told us that he will just choose the one he feels is best for his wedding day.
MS: What’s unique or special about his Barong Tagalog? What were your inspirations?
FL: Darren’s custom-designed Francis Libiran piece is made of pure hand-loomed Piña fabric. We intricately embroidered the fabric with my signature Art Deco embroidery. The design of the embroidery is inspired by the Tattoo design patterns of the famous tattooed indigenous people found in Cebu called “Pintados.”
MS: What does it mean to your brand to be able to dress Darren for his big day?
FL: Seeing Darren Criss wear my design makes me extremely happy and proud to be Filipino. What better way to promote the Philippines but through the Barong Tagalog, and worn by a multi-awarded Hollywood star, who happens to be half Pinoy!! How awesome is that? The entire process was smooth and I am so honored to have the privilege to be part of his very special day. What makes it even more special is that he chose to pay homage to his Filipino roots by wearing our national dress on his wedding day. This, for me is what makes Filipinos so amazing!!!
Lead photos from Vogue
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