Maniolas

Enter summer: Rustan’s holds “Summering with Rustan’s” at the Glorietta Park in Ayala Center. Photos by Walter Bollozos It was a risky thing, to go with the conversion — the “verbification” of the word “summer.” But as fashion is a world known more for compounding words (manbun, mandals, flatforms, maxi-dress — all in attendance at the show) than blind veneration for the rules of syntax, guests at “Summering with Rustan’s” happily embraced the vocab addition.  Recently held at the Glorietta Park in Ayala Center Makati, Summering with Rustan’s was a high-energy presentation of trends for the season reminiscent of an old-school fair. Booths offering games surrounded the venue. Candied apples, cotton candy, and giant lollipops circulated in abundance. The lastest in summer fashion was presented, and there was a slide onstage: does it get more summer than that? Patis Tesoro showcased roadtrip fashion of the boho-luxe kind. Alternative Apparel, Mink Punk, Nike and Armani Jeans took care of skate-and-surf wear. Sinequanon, Adolfo Dominguez and Elie Tahari presented comfortable and casual summer style. Lily Pulitzer and Jill and Luna by Jojie Lloren were go-to brands for vibrant prints. Pedro del Hierro, Faconnable and Thomas Pink showed preppy cruisewear. Hackett, Oleg Cassini and Ascot Chang presented fashion for hot date nights. Natori, Just Cavalli, Seafolly, Despi, Maaji and Azura took us from loungewear to swimwear. Longchamp, Loewe, Stella McCartney, Rebecca Minkoff, Rafe, Sergio Rossi, Christian Louboutin, Rene Caovilla, Ivanka Trump, Jelly Bunny, and metallic tattoos from Kitsch covered the assortment of bags, Read More …

Truth be told, fashion shows faze me. The show, often on the sidelines than on the runway, can be a tiring spectacle of selfies and self-promotion from the chic to the carnivalesque. Yet somehow, Manila Fashion Festival adopts a friendlier, less rigid vibe, maybe because Anna Wintour herself is starting to lighten up (the poker face is still in style, but scowling is so last season), or maybe because we’ve all come to an unspoken agreement that we’re all there for one thing: the clothes. Manila Fashion Festival Fall/Winter 2015, which was organized by Art Personas, was held from Mar. 18 to 21 at the Green Sun building. Day One presented the designs of Happy Andrada, Jerome Salaya Ang, John Herrera, Jot Losa, Renan Pacson and YAY. Day Two was more for evening wear with Anthony Ramirez, Charina Sarte, Chris Diaz, Michael Leyva, Odelon Simpao and Veejay Floresca. Day Three designers delivered creative shows, with Cheetah Rivera, Mark Bumgarner, Pablo Cabahug, Art Personas in-house brand Arin, and Rhett Eala, who celebrated his 20th year in the business. The afternoon of Day Four was all about young designers Banggo Niu, Bea Samson, Esme Palaganas and Tony Evan. Jaz Cerezo, Mark Tamayo, Vania Romoff and Ziggy Savella closed MFF with the evening show. In stark contrast to fall/winter tradition, many of the collections were on the side of fun. An abundance of bows made an appearance. Floor-skimming dresses in prints of all kinds were popular. Themes in the spirit of the Man Read More …

I love Coco: Keira Knightley is the face of Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick. Does the Chanel woman strike you as a lip-balm kind of girl? Didn’t think so. At a recent Makeup Open Door event in Singapore, Chanel launched five cosmetic lines that comprise their summer 2015 collection, but the biggest news was the re-launch of the new and improved Rouge Coco, with a glowing Keira Knightley as the face of the oh-so-chic lipsticks.   Rouge Coco: Set to convert the gloss generation Prior to the original launch of Rouge Coco in 2010, Millennials (and even Gen X-ers like myself) had become the Gloss Generation. Lipstick was regarded as old school — something our mothers did at their vanities with funny-smelling, waxy-textured tubes of color. Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: Chanel has put the fun back in lipstick again. The reformulated Rouge Coco has all the pigment-rich drama of a classic lippie, the sheen of a gloss and the hydrating qualities of a balm in one modern black-and-gold bullet, thanks to a nourishing combination of mimosa, jojoba and sunflower butters. Iconic shades from the ’70s have been retained, but the reinvented line has 24 colors named after the most important people in Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s life, which adds a nice backstory to each color: the nudes and beiges honor her family, the pinks and rosewoods recall her friends, the reds immortalize her lovers (like Arthur, a swoony crimson named after Boy Capel) and the plums pay Read More …