Party du Jour

Bandoix Flores was the party organizer on our New Year’s soiree. His table arrangements were divinely exquisite….his canapes were to die for……. where everything is elegance personified!!!!

You see, aesthetics is a religion with him, giving every cracker a cut to perfection and topped with cheese, caviar and relish. Highly decorated and mouth watering, it was a temptation island. Grabbing a beautifully prepared white bread with finely chops vegetables and meat, someone howled at me like a cross between a live croc and hyena, catching me point blank when I was about to swallow the most “coveted sin-” cum – bad table manners before new year!!!!!! duh! and duh!!!!!!

BANDOIX FLORES
“Monger!..you can’t eat that yet!!!!! , the food must be prayed first! “screams Bandoix. “Oh my gowhsness!!but errr, excuse me your highness kitchen evil thing, who thinks “CHEF” of all mighty….I was just testing the flavourness of your “work of art”, errr, I mean what ever” I retorted desperately,”…..and c’est vouz plait, por favor, what will be the exact time to glorify this cute, sexy, desirable, delicious and lucious microscopic finger foods might be, before I devour????…. hmmp, I howled back.And by the way Mr. Flores, I am not only a stylemonger if you may, I am also a tasteMONGER…..LOL,!!!!! (translation: surely if your creation pales in comparison with the canape’s of the fab BURJ AL ARAB, or MAXIM’S in Paris, surely my wrath and spit-venom- criticism will surely make your day!!! truly yours, the Gastronomic Snob!!!)

….life is too short honey, but brutally beautiful too!

OF FURS, BLACK SUITS AND KILLER SHOES

The glossy evening was like stratosphoria ” SoMean-in- Black” descends from Paris, the Society Mavens and Collectors of Haute Couture compete to throw each other to the style pit.

Alas, many a party of THE REVILLAS is turning into a competitive arena. Keeping up with the Joneses, the Hiltons and the Kardashians as the case might be, can be mighty nightmare-inducing too…. like Judgment Day.

EZRA SANTOS
Poor host…. La Divine EZRA SANTOS, after rounds of white wines, dance and 7 inches GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI killer shoes wound up in the lounge…while the battlefronts up close and the rest of the HERMES brigade strutted like Chihuahauas on heat!

The most important ingredient for THE REVILLA SOIREE was not the food or the cool-quotient of the assembled guests, but the conversation. They have had enough of evenings where the sole purpose is to see-and-be-seen, perhaps show off a new ensemble of baubles or a freshly sculpted body and redefined, skillfully morphed face.

ALBERT ANDRADA WITH PARTNER RENE SANTOS
As for conversation?? well, there were “CONVERSATIONAL PIECES”…like host EZRA SANTOS wearing an all black jersey JEAN PAUL GAULTIER combo so demure in the front and so sleazy at the back!, complete with 7 inch killer shoes and surprise/surprise, a chic fur coat to end all fur coats!!!!…it’s Dynasty-Meets- SATC!!!!! FABULOUZZAH! ELEGANT! DIVINE…!!!!!!

The effervescent and impalpable MICHAEL CINCO and the forever STYLE HYSTERIA Bandoix Flores committed the first ever Fashion Paux Pas……!!!! wearing both GUCCI’s Winter 2011- a black trench coat. After much deliberations, they decided to wear them both….in a may-the-best-girl-win-competition!

MICHAEL pulled up some tinnie-winnie ensemble of neck fur, Louboutin shoes and signature POUT to attitude-ized his Parisian chic set. While Bandoix Flores opt for a black fedora hat- Dick Tracy-meets- wacky races boss Dick Dastardly.

And the rest of the gang opted for TALKING PIECES…like ALBERT ANDRADA in black suit and black boots, ditto with RENE SANTOS, JOSEPH CURIOSO, DEVONE VENDER, MICHAEL AMAZON AND THE REST.

It’s food for thought…a culinary fashion fair…..

Parties may wither the REVILLAS a bit, but it does not stop them jumping headlong into the party swirl. The BEEN- THERE-DONE THAT brigade those prone to Page 3 posturing night after night, don’t even mind sharing newsprint with those who have to pay for the ‘privilege’……THE GOOD LIFE!

One magical night: impeccably stylish friends, delicious cuisine and amazing fireworks at the best venue to watch the spectacular view of the BURJ KHALIFA…..WHO SEZ IT’S TOO LONELY AT THE TOP?
……..definitely not!!!!!!

The REVILLAS. The One …the ONLY.

At the A/W Splash Fashion Show 2010 finale, everyone turns their heads to the man most eyes followed, as he appeared on stage during the curtain call, famous and well loved in the fashion industry, he produced the most eagerly awaited and the most expensive runway show ever in Dubai, in a single day, according to Bong Guerrero, event and party guru who was behind that fabulous show last October2010.

Meet Raza Beig…. CEO of Splash, Iconic and Landmark Group.

Hard working, and extremely driven, Raza Beig is one of the most successful CEOs, and currently considered the top young gun in Dubai’s business circuit. Disarmingly charming and extremely energetic, he combines the retail aesthetic training with entrepreneurial vigour and has travelled a long way –from the humble street of Al Wahda in Sharjah to high end stores in the Middle East, Egypt and Lebanon, Raza Beig’s success story is amazing, yet he makes no bones about it, remaining cool and humble.

A CEO with a big heart, Mister Beig, for the past fifteen years handles the company deeply personal and family oriented…he knows the market and gives consumers the utmost satisfaction, from the quality of the products and best prices, it’s “affordable fashion” with high end quality.

Splash and Iconic lead the high street fashion retailer in the Middle East, with international and in-house designed brands. From apparels for men, women and kids, accessories and lifestyle, the stores stamped its presence in trends and urban fashion.

PHOTO CREDIT: VANSHIKA MEHTA

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vanshika-Mehta-Photography/130202170323841

In-house designed collections include favorites like Ms, Nexus, Retro, ZYNC, Scarlet and Friday-Kinyobi while Splash’s international portfolio comprises of international brands like Lee Cooper (European denim brand), Arrow (American Apparel brand), Bossini (Hong Kong based leisurewear brand), Kappa (Italian sports brand), Maui & Sons (Californian surf & lifestyle brand), UMM (Italian Music Inspired Brand) and Zodiac (the Business shirt & Tie brand) among others.

The Raza Beig’s Fashion Philosophy is well absorbed by his dynamic and creative team, giving them all the freedom to create the most advance, consumer friendly and highly fashionable designs for age no bar collections.

PHOTO CREDIT: VANSHIKA MEHTA

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vanshika-Mehta-Photography/130202170323841

Raza Beig’s success story can be awesome to many, but clearly, it displayed leadership with great visions and strategies. He has the touch, the know- how and the qualities of being the boss… he is worth the awe!

The Spring/ Summer Collection 2011 will be on February next year and surely it will be grand and extraordinary….so RAZA….SO BEIG !!!!!!!!!

Three short dresses with edgy geometric artform concentrated on quirky patterns in weaving and and hand knotting. Dashed with cut colored glasses, the warrior queens strutted the runway while the audience held their breath.

photo credits: EROS GOZE

The renaissance man named Karl Lagerfeld, has spent the last decade eternalizing not only his own legend but the legend of enduring fashion icon, Coco Chanel. Lagerfeld still wins plaudits for keeping the brand fresh and preserving its classic appeal.

Visual images of  labels bombarded big screens showing glamourous models endorsing brands to augment bourgeois quotient, some of these images have indeed been from the house of CHANEL.

Taking world fancy by storm, from the iconic jackets to bags and the famous Chanel No. 5 perfume, a fashion juggernaut  has proven that  Chanel is one of the most recognized brand, trusted and embedded in our fashion psyche for years.

History is made relevant here, as Karl Lagerfeld created with ultimate sartorial poise, the CHANEL look for men. However, a better chic muscle and a more powerful line is much needed to compete  the more popular Dior Homme.

Studio8 introduces a new home furnishing collection “DIVA RICHE” in an aura of luxury and panache that adds a subtle luxe tone to your lifestyle. Meant for the classy shopoholic and the discerning connoisseur of the finer things in life, this home décor destination presents a contemporary western and modern approach to home furnishings.

The wide assortment of products in every style and design makes this a shopper’s paradise that combines contemporary designs of Paris with the oomphs of London. Duvet covers and bedspreads in soft  fabrics with  jewelry setting merged with cushions in polysilk velvet along with chic and luxurious living and bedroom accessories in warm earthy tones of honey and tobacco browns.

ARCHANA KOCHHAR and NANDITA MAHTANI are the new entrants to the haute Studio8 ensemble of INDIA’s elite designers and inroduced their new exquisite designs, style and creativity. The boutique’s impressive villa, stores impeccably designed party dresses of chiffons and silks, blings and bags.

These are unsettled times for everyone in the business of luxury, but the challenges facing this uncertain world of economic crunch, are as unique as the one million peso hand-beaded ball gown embellished with Swarovski brilliants and semi precious stones, sashaying at the Philippine Fashion Week Holiday Collection 2011 by Dubai- based designer, MICHAEL CINCO.

With money in retreat, its traditional customers aging or dying, and critics increasingly carping about its irrelevance, the couture economy, always delicate, now is more precarious than ever, leaving many to wonder whether there is a customer base left for couture.

Gone are the high-class tastes of the old Manila’s finer set, the blue-blooded ladies who lunched and hosted benefits and social events in couture daywear having been replaced by new-world of pret’- a- porter and China’s excess from Divisoria to Greenhills.

For this very few moneyed class, it’s less about the luxuriousness of wearing exquisite handmade to-order creations and more about conspicuous consumption and making museums out of their closets. But couture is much more than a product. It’s a creative branding, a marketing strategy, it’s an image. Lovers of Couture don’t bring the much coveted piece into publicity and recognition to maintain its allure.

To call couture a business has long seemed unstinting. The art of handmaking and custom-fitting intricate one-of-a-kind garments surely would have died out two decades ago. The diaspora of creative and talanted Filipino designers to the Middle East, particularly Jeddah and Dubai, with international trained craftspeople, made the Pinoy designers more aggressive, more artistic and more knowledgeable to high stitching of elaborate gowns, sometimes loosely translated to Haute Couture. Filipino designers abroad became the “masters” and on the top of a newly created fashion food chain, having a staff of trained embroiderers from India and the subcontinent, pattern-cutters-tailors from Europe and Philippines.

MICHAEL CINCO

MADAME BUTTERFLY

Philippine Fashion Week 2011

The most mesmerizing ambience show ever this year, MICHAEL CINCO continued his impalpable dream. Inspired by the classic ‘Madame Butterfly’, the 45 piece- collection flown in from Dubai, was eight months to finish. His embroidery staff worked day and night to create a dazzling embellishments of crystals and semi -precious stones. Soft and diaphanous, the ensemble of voluminous skirts complimented the vivid color- mix of iridescent Swarovski crystals in pure abundance from bodice to skirt in butterfly patterns. Highly knowlegeable in fine stitching and impeccable finishing, Cinco’s trained staff laboriously moulage every piece,

producing a feminine silhouette of luxury. The “Madame Butterfly Show ” raised the bar of haute in couture and luxury, Michael Cinco’s finest.

FURNE ONE

WAR and ROSES

Red Cross Charity Gala Show

Shangrila Makati

Known for his grand and elaborate shows, FURNE ONE’s War and Roses was the most fabulous event of the year. Except for the sliding of the models incident, the show deserved high praises, from production to collection, it was Parisian Show in Philipines. The ONE & ONLY FURNE ONE’S aesthetics are innate, a veteran A-lister and award winning designer, his Dubai’s runway shows top the fashion’s most wanted.Furne One created edgy and modern concept of women with strong attitude. His beige, nude silhouettes in well-crafted short dresses and gowns displayed his no nonsense know how in the industry. Furne One is unbeatable in runway….a master, an illusionist and a fabulous artist. War and Roses showed his edge.

CARY SANTIAGO

Flight of Fancy/Plumage

METRO BRIDE SHOW

MARRIOTT MANILA

CARY SANTIAGO is a meticulous artist-designer, his “coutureness” is unbearable. Santiago’s push-to-the-wall love and dedication to HAUTE COUTURE is his personal quest to perfection. Cary Santiago resurfaced the dying if not dead COUTURE industry in the Philippines. Stubbornly arrogant in his convictions, his dream was vindicated and continued doing couture amidst bland and quirky ready made garments. Santiago’s collection at his METRO BRIDE SHOW were coveted pieces that exhibit the finest in stitching , more than art….its art immitating art.

INNO SOTTO

INNO 30-20-10

The Cultural Center of the Philippines

MANILA

Thirty years in the business has made INNO SOTTO a “PREMIERE CLASSE” amongst the fashion-conscious and the fashion elite. Specialising in exclusive haute couture originals, a Sotto creation spells affluence and class. His sartorial focus is a non-stop quest for producing the finest elegant pieces that conjure a feast for the senses. Bringing to the fore a refreshing insight into his thirty years collection founded with a palatte sated with colours and a balanced blend of symmetric shapes and forms, INNO SOTTO presented a vision that moves from glimmering flesh tones to delicious peaches. Then, his “noir pieces move sinuously into vibrant tones ending their journey in an unparalleled blend of silk chiffons that cascade flawlessly down the runway like harmonious limericks.And while his signature all-out celebration of all that is glamorous takes you on a passage to all that’s chic, he also references his love for the finer things.

INNO SOTTO’S 30-2010 wondrous creations are a testament to his mastery, and a gift to the fashion industry.

CESAR GAUPO

PHILIPPINE FASHION WEEK S/S 2011

SMX MANILA

The grand finale of the PFW S/S 2011, GAUPO’s neat and precise collection showed the veteran’s mastery in high-end designs and techniques. His fabrics and color combinations  were great achievements, a “soft tailoring”- a chief trend in international fashion, from VALENTINO to MARC JACOBS ..lean tailored look.

Cesar Gaupo’s sophisticated style combined with a hint of  feminine flair, made his collection  outrageously popular. This trend embraces understated, elegant pieces like subtly structured gowns, ruffled blouses and delicate cap-sleeved dresses. All classy cuts, Gaupos fashionable, comfortable and clean-cut urban looks work best , although the tailoring is evident in these garments, it is relaxed and flowing, clearly indicating that it belongs to a GAUPO silhouette.

In the increasing fashionably snazzy world of art and fashion, studded by the flavour-of-the-moment celebrities who are supposed to up the buzz barometer wherever they go, make-up artists ‘come and go’……but who are ‘Michelangelos’ of the ‘Make Over’ world?(to appropriate some much-quoted RuPaul!!)And, of course, that all-important question: Who are the best artists to look up to?

Glamour is no longer a reserved state-of-being. It is up for grabs for anyone who can carry it off. Glamour artists have met the girl next door and transformed her. And so has the world of make-up by bringing the high drama in runways, parties and red carpets.