MANILA, Philippines - Robin Padilla as model? Why not? Robin ruled the ramp with his action star swagger at the Lee Jeans Philippines event at the Mall of Asia Atrium last Oct. 22 during the Philippine Fashion Week.
“Tinapangan ko ang sarili ko,” said Robin who has his brother, er, “sister” Bebe Gandanghari to thank for giving him “ramp confidence.” Yes, Bebe gave Robin a crash course in modeling, reminding him, “Behave like you are the most desirable man on that stage and everything will be all right.”
Lee Jeans was celebrating 120 years of denim innovation. To mark the momentous event, it hosted a party with one massive fashion soiree. Lee not only went back to its roots, but showcased the evolutional timeline to which denim played an iconic part in Lee Make History, 120 Anniversary Show.
Only a few can have the bragging rights of having more than a century of experience under their creative cap. Founded in 1889, Lee continues to blaze the denim trail, whether it was the introduction of Union-All workwear in 1913 to the first pair of jeans with zippers in 1926. Lee was, and is still is at the forefront of denim creativity, coming out with the newest fits in the freshest finishes.
“Since our founding over 100 years ago, Lee has not only survived but flourished,” says Aidan O’Meara, President of VF Asia. “We have remained on the cutting edge of fashion and modern thought, while never sacrificing the quality and character of the jeans we put out.”
Another milestone was the awarding of Michelle “Zeay” De Jesus of Caloocan, the Filipina winner of “Lee Make History” Picture Story Competion. With a whopping prize money of $40,000 USD, Zeay’s entry beat over 10,000 others from across the Asia Pacific region.
Finalists Love from the Philippines, Target from India and Color of Light from Thailand were judged by a panel of celebrated personalities in Shanghai including distinguished photographer Zhu Hao, famed Elle Fashion Director Li Baojian and Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai, Executive Creative Director Kelvin Lee. Started late last year with a call for picture stories that capture the times, the Make History competition challenged people to get behind the lenses and capture their genuine personal perspectives.
The Lee Make History campaign created a different channel of personal connection from brand to consumer, by getting involved in lives. By engaging people to tell their stories, there were shared dialogues between communities and countries. Zeay’s winning entry will be published in the most prominent international fashion magazines and will be used as Lee’s ad campaign in the Asia Pacific region. Although the entries spanned different cultures and the themes were wildly diverse, there was a feel to the campaign that gave it a sense of unity, where different stories played off each other and became something larger.