Pokemon and weddings? If you are a Pokemon fan, you might have fantasized about wearing a Pokemon-themed outfit on your wedding day and it is exactly what Lenard Santos from the Philippines had in mind when he tied the knot while wearing a traditional Filipino wedding attire featuring Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard in its design.
Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard in Barong
Recently, Santos went viral on the internet after he posted photos of his Pokemon-themed barong featuring the entire Charmander evolution line on Facebook and TikTok. In the Philippines, people typically wear the traditional Filipino clothing known as ‘Barong' during special occasions, such as weddings.
In an interview with ClutchPoints, Santos revealed it was his wife's suggestion that led to the customization of his wedding clothes with his favorite Pokemon's evolution line.
“She was the one who pushed me to personalize my barong on our wedding day. In her words: it was definitely you,” Santos recalls.
As of the article's writing, his posts garnered more than 14k reactions on Facebook and just shy of 500k views on TikTok. The internet seems to absolutely adore the Pokemon-themed wedding outfit as comments pointing out its beautiful craftsmanship, while also congratulating the newlyweds, littered the comment section.
As for the reactions of the people who are close to him, Santos revealed their wedding guests didn't notice the Charmander barong at first.
“From afar, they didn't notice it was Pokemon,” Santos confessed during the interview. However, he then adds that their family and friends were “surprised and amazed” when they saw the intricate details of the Charmander barong up close.
When asked how much the Pokemon-themed wedding barong cost, Santos did not reveal the price tag.
“The cost really depends on multiple factors like the intricacies of the design and amount of work to be done,” Santos revealed.
Making the Charmander Evolution Line Barong
CHAR CHAR CHAR.
For Lenard.Custom embroidered groom's barong with the CHAR evolutions, Poké balls on the cuff, and ALAB on the back collar in Baybayin plus flames.
Paired this with slim cut formal pants in light brown.#HouseOfSanti pic.twitter.com/xEloqHoXNK
— Santi Obcena (@santiobcena) April 3, 2024
Regarding the custom Pokemon barong, it boldly features an embroidered Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard with fiery elements in its facade. It also has embroidered Poké Balls right on its cuff. Santi Obcena, the second runner-up of Project Runway Philippines Season 2, crafted the custom Charmander barong.
“I had two discussions with Santi on it. The initial meeting was to discuss the general idea of [what images] did I want [for my barong] and the pattern to use for the embroidery,” Santos reveals. “There was a back and forth on whether to just show Charmander or his whole evolution line and how the fire would look like,” he adds.
After his tailor got to know more about him, Santos said it was smooth sailing from that point forward.
“It was easy approving the design as he delivered all that we discussed,” Santos admits.
Another easter egg in the Charmander barong features the embroidered Baybayin script (a prehispanic script used in the Philippines up until the 16th and 17th centuries) spelling out the word ‘alab', a fitting reference to the Fire-type Pokemon as it literally means “to burn with emotion.”
“Santi mentioned that it means personal growth and fire in the marriage in years to come. This was his own personal touch to the design,” Santos shared.
With many people inquiring about the source of his custom Pokemon wedding outfit, Santos recommends that they approach Santo Obcena directly for their desired designs, whether they are Pokemon-themed or not. He also would like to give Oak St. Studios credit for his viral photos as they wouldn't have been perfect if it weren't for them.
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