I knew the big day was nearing when texts from friends, relatives and near-strangers had escalated to a fever pitch. “Please,” went one particularly absurd plea, “I’ve been waiting for this event for two years.”
Apparently, so had everyone. The biennial Bench underwear show, dubbed Blackout, had everyone wondering, this year, who would drop trou. (It was Rafael Rosell, if you must know.)
When the day arrived, Araneta was packed to the rafters, with fans queuing up for tickets as early as 4 p.m.
Backstage, the action had already begun. With roughly 122 models and 40-plus celebs on the show roster, the scene backstage was tense. Well, not quite.
Everyone was sipping Moet, courtesy of Bench head honcho Ben Chan (who looked dapper in a suit), while makeup artists and dressers primped and spray-tanned the models. “It was like a party with all the models clad in underwear,” says show director Ariel Lozada, who headlined previous Bench productions such as Brief Encounters, One Night Only and Understatement. “We wanted to psyche up the models backstage.” No doubt a few cases of champagne can take the edge off the anticipation parading naked in front of thousands.
“This is the first time I had fun,” Ariel notes. When I asked him why, aside from the clear fact that he was constantly in the middle of half-naked crowds of Manila’s hottest celebs (which must’ve been true for the other underwear shows he directed), he mentioned the participation of the artists.
Blackout was divided into collaborations with the likes of filmmaker Raymond Red and designer Lesley Mobo. “This year we wanted a simple show because we were working with four artists,” Ariel adds. “The process and exercise became fun because of the artists’ involvement. I love Raymond Red, (artist) Abi Goy, (photographer) Jun de Leon and, of course, my friend Lesley Mobo.”
“It was fun,” says designer Joey Samson, who styled a large portion of the show, of the mood backstage.
I caught glimpses of models and celebs drifting about pre-show, relaxing their paint-covered limbs. Ran into Young Star columnist Erwin Romulo, who was wandering about backstage randomly asking show participants, “So, did you ever have that dream where you were naked in front of a lot of people?”
When the lights dimmed and the music began, I heard someone at the periphery scream, “Oh, my God, the boys!”
Oh, my God, the boys, indeed.