Bridal fair
SHOWCASES THE COUNTRY'S NOTABLE DESIGNERS
Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino presented its fourth biggest and grandest bridal fair in the city: The Cebu Wedding Expo “Weddings at the Waterfront.” Open to all wedding enthusiasts and those eager to begin their journey to “I do,” the fair took place last Oct. 5 and 6 with the best of the industry all in one venue.
Cebu witnessed its opening bridal fashion show called “Intemporel.” On its second day, the expo presented its pinnacle event—in celebration of the hotel’s 20th anniversary—”World CLASS Weddings at the Waterfront,” the grand finale fashion show co-presented by Diagold and Emirates. The show featured five world-renowned Filipino fashion designers: Michael Cinco, Francis Libiran, Furne Amato, Ezra Santos and Cary Santiago.
“World CLASS was a collaboration of Waterfront with Cary Santiago who’s always been supporting the annual fair for the past years. This year, however, was an exception. Since it’s the hotel’s 20th celebration, we thought that the annual wedding fair should be nothing less than world class,” shared Fila Sofia Ubalde-D’Lonsod, Waterfront’s conventions and events director, who also said that this event was a year in the making, conceptualized right after last year’s “Weddings at the Waterfront.”
The event was attended by Cebu and Manila’s well-heeled set and members of the media who waited in anticipation of the show.
True enough, guests were astounded with what they saw before them. The show began with creations by Michael Cinco, whose designs evoked both a regal and fairytale-like whimsy to it. Next on the runway was Francis Libiran’s collection, showing femininity in soft and voluminous hues.
Furne Amato’s designs were presented in dramatic fashion and showed meticulous hand work as seen on the designs paired with pearls in different shapes and sizes for that ornate touch.
“The collection is inspired by the ornate architecture of cathedrals, Catholic vestments and religious iconography,” said Furne, calling the collection “Amor Vincit Omnia,” which means “Love Conquers All” in Latin.
Ezra Santos’ collection is called “Love and Hope.”
“I use men’s suiting fabrics, matching them with French tulle and hand beadwork with Swarovski icy crystals, to create a strong but feminine look,” said Ezra, who shared that the inspiration was glamor in the 1930s.
“I have to do a lot of research and study every single cut and detail to come up with this off-white out-of-the-box wedding collection. What I showed are different ideas of what a bride can wear on her day,” Ezra shared, on the thought process in making a design.
Finally, designs by Cary Santiago were seen on the runway with pieces that showed intricate details topped with bird-like touches apparent on the designs, adding to the uniqueness of the collection and ending the night on a very memorable note.
“It was a historic event in the Philippine Fashion industry, bringing together five of the biggest names in fashion. Being a Filipino hotel chain celebrating our 20th year, we want to showcase that same sense of Filipino pride through World CLASS Weddings at the Waterfront,” added Sofia.