No shady business for this ‘It’ girl

CEBU, Philippines - Superlatives won’t even begin to describe celebrity print/commercial model, social media maven, event host, and cover girl Georgina Wilson. If her name doesn’t ring a bell to you, then let her 1.68 million Twitter and almost 630,000 Instagram followers, her multiple billboards, print, radio and TV commercials, and brand endorsements convince you of her incredible popularity and mass media appeal due to her classy and sassy look.

With her arresting charm, undeniable charisma, chic and sophistication, there’s no denying that she’s definitely every man’s ultimate dream girl. Her quick wit that compliments her already impressive résumé and her impeccable pedigree – coming from the prominent Daza clan of showbiz fame, is every young girl’s envy. Plus, she’s part of a glamorous circle making her an enigmatic and buzz worthy personality; that’s why her legions of fans and admirers catapult her to social media queen bee status, which also propelled her to become one of the country’s most sought-after brand ambassadors.

Nevertheless, despite her hectic schedule, and commitments left and right these days, she’s still able to juggle the demands of growing a business. Yes, Georgina is starting to build her own fashion empire thanks to her new, but already quite talked-about savvy startup called Sunnies by Charlie, which she started last year with her cousin and former American Apparel creative head Martine Cajucom, along with friends and Charlie Apparel business partners Bea Soriano and Eric Dee.

Georgina serves as the brand’s ambassador and marketing director at the same time while cousin Martine, who just migrated back from the States, is their creative director. Her long-time friend and fellow model Bea, serves as the Operations Director, while Eric is the Finance Director.

Not a lot of people may know it, but Georgina actually graduated from the University of Sydney in Australia with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a double major in Finance and Accounting, so she pretty much knows her math that well. She even used to work for a top financial firm in London before she decided to go back to the Philippines and pursue her professional career as a model.

With this impressive background on her sleeve, Georgina venturing into business was inevitable. Sunnies, according to her, came due in part to her obsession with sunglasses. Today, she proudly owns more than 50 pairs of different brands, colors, shapes and designs. After her friends (Bea and Eric) saw that many people love it when she wears their sunglasses from Charlie Apparel, they offered her a chance to expand the store’s sunglasses line into a full-fledged and independent eyewear brand. Hence, Sunnies by Charlie was born, taking Instagram by storm with their rapid campaign that utilized guerrilla-styled photography and showcasing the freshest eyewear worn by the country’s coolest people and trendsetters.

In response to the need for quality eyewear at a reasonable cost, Sunnies by Charlie offers frames that enable the wearer to make trendy fashion statements without breaking the bank with prices starting from P249, going up to P799. The brand draws inspiration from the 60s and 70s with a modern twist, as the aesthetic is vintage-inspired.

“When I created this brand, I didn’t want it to be isolating so everyone could enjoy it. People think a pair of Sunnies is expensive but it’s really not. It’s for all the fashionistas out there. There’s a specific Sunnies design that will accommodate everyone’s taste,” Georgina simply puts.

As its ambassador and marketing manager, Georgina believes the Sunnies brand reflects her image and her personal style. “I created a dream brand so it does identify with me in so many ways. A lot of people will see me as very glamorous and sophisticated, but I can also be very relaxed. I can also be carefree, and I think that’s the concept of the Sunnies brand, it’s very laidback, and carefree,” she adds.

Georgina attributes Sunnies’ popularity with the advent of social media where she’s been getting much attention and support from. “Social media is really part of the brand in a very big way. As a personality, I’m so active in social media and it really does help promote the brand. Sunnies has the most colorful Instagram account in the Philippines and you can see the type of consumers that we are targeting. They are very young, very active on social media, mahilig mag-selfie, mahilig mag-hashtag. It just makes our job so much more fun because you can see how people receive it so well. Excited na excited sila. They always tag me and they tell me that they bought something because I love them. Nakaka-touch talaga.”

She shared that when Sunnies first opened their Instagram account, Cebuano followers were asking them to open in Cebu. And finally, last Saturday at SM City Cebu’s Northwing (near Kultura), much to the delight of their avidly waiting and craving Cebu-based consumers, Sunnies by Charlie officially launched its first ever station in the metro. Throngs of young and trendy fashionistas lined up even early in the morning to meet and greet their style icon, Georgina Wilson in the flesh for a chance to get a posh “selfie” with her and a fan sign.

Georgina said they decided to conquer the Visayas and Mindanao retail market starting in Cebu because, “Cebu is close to my heart. I come here often and it’s one of my favorite places outside of Manila because it feels like home, it feels like I belong here. I love the vibe. I also think Cebu is very fashion-forward. If there’s anywhere outside of Manila where Sunnies will be appreciated, it will be here. And we are just really answering the demand of the Cebuanos who wanted us to be here.”

       True enough, last Saturday’s success was testament to how appealing the Sunnies brand is to the Cebuano market. “Sunnies Cebu was even more successful than we could have ever imagined. Thank you to all the beautiful people that lined up for hours and hours to support our store opening! It was so special to meet you all,” Georgina recently posted on her Instagram account.

Asked how much effort she actually invests into the business knowing that she has many other commitments on her plate, Georgina shared that she hasn’t even slept that day due to a work gig the night before flying out to Cebu.

“I’m involved with everything. I’m very hands-on. I choose the colors, the designs although not a lot of people know that. It’s a collaboration between me and my friends. I think people who like the brand see the love; they see the soul in the brand. They see that it’s something that we truly believe in and we’ve created with blood, sweat and tears.”

According to her, business has been a learning experience so far, and it’s something that she’s been truly passionate about. “I took marketing courses in university, but I think it’s something that you can learn on the field as well. It’s about gut feel and knowing what is right, an intuition in a way.”

Although there’s a big difference with being an entrepreneur as to what she has been exposed to as a model, she enjoys reaping the rewards of the trade. “I think any entrepreneur would understand the stresses of what you have to deal with in business. It’s more stressful, but more rewarding. For me, it’s so exciting to see the final product and people loving it, especially when people are lining up for it. It just makes every effort we do even more worth it.”

She adds that working with her own cousin and friends has been a very good experience as well. “It’s a very different feeling. Because to take a personal relationship into a professional one, you have to have so much respect for each other because there are things that can go wrong, you just have to trust each other and be very respectful. I’m just so lucky to find partnership where we all excel in our fields and I respect their talents so much.”

Being a new brand in the market, unavoidable comparisons to other eyewear brands are always drawn, but Georgina was quick to point out their commitment and passion to make Sunnies solid and authentic. “If anybody sees what we are producing and what others are producing, you’d see that the brand has so much soul and love from it because the people that created the brand are also the consumers. So when we choose a particular design, we don’t just choose it because it will sell. We choose it because we all personally love it. It’s really not just about money, it’s creating our dream brand.”

Right now, Sunnies already has seven branches nationwide and they plan to open six more branches nationwide this year. After Cebu, they will open one in Davao City next month and maximize marketing campaigns in time for summer.

Although it’s still her first business venture, business prospects are all too bright for Georgina as she hinted to the possibility of starting new concepts in the future given the time.  “Sunnies is my first business, but I have a few ideas on the pipeline. I did not realize that Sunnies would take a lot of my time. So, I just want to do this one perfectly first ‘coz I’d hate to not do things perfectly.”

Georgina may be wearing different hats, and dipping her fingers into several different roles as model, cover girl, endorser and entrepreneur simultaneously, but this busy lady is not showing any signs of slowing down. She teased on getting more TV exposure this year, quite possibly finally doing some acting, which is something her avid fans have all been waiting for her to do. “Right now I’m focusing on Sunnies, but I might start more TV stuff soon. Abangan.”

Follow Georgina’s (@ilovegeorgina) latest posts and see recent available designs from Sunnies by Charlie (@SunniesCharlie,@SunniesByCharlie) on their official Instagram and Twitter. (FREEMAN)