I bet you look good on the dance floor
There were fetching Brazilian models, some pretend-soaking in a bathtub as the rest pretend-read on a daybed. Present, too, were industry torchbearers and pacesetters, sipping cava while exchanging pleasant nothings with fellow insomniacs. This nighttime diorama carried on as a Snow Patrol remix, among other floor fillers, thump-thump-thumped in the background. This was exactly how the new wing of Embassy opened. Or at least, that’s what I remember. Let’s go back to 2005.
About two years ago, in the pursuit of fun and nosiness, I was part of a tiny group that got to tour Embassy before it threw its doors open to a dance club-deprived public. Back then, Manila nightlife was undergoing a Lazarus-like resurrection: For every bar that shut down during the early part of the decade, a clutch of new ones took its place not so long after. But not one of those holes-in-the-wall was a real-deal club. Most were schizo restaurant-bars that merely hired DJs to crank up the decibels once the dinner crowd got cranky. Desperate, I know. Then Embassy — with its in-the-know turntablists and clipboard-wielding door bitches — came. Of course, the kids lined up. Around the block even.
Now perched on a chunk of land formerly known as the MTV offices, Embassy 2.0 promises more of the velvet-rope splendour that’s a prerequisite in the world’s most stylish clubs. During the private launch on a not-so-quiet Tuesday evening, a crowd way familiar with VIP suites shepherded itself from a well-lit reception area to the new Embassy’s damask-heavy interiors. (The flocked gilt wallpaper and retro-modern banquettes kinda reminded me of The Ruby Lounge in London’s Notting Hill. Not Grandma at all.)
“We opened Embassy because I had a secret desire to be our country’s ambassador… of fun,” goes some fun-loving dude named Tim Yap. “For me, this club is the fulfilment of one of my true mission/vision statements. You’ll see it on the window. It says, ‘We are all ambassadors.’” True enough, there it was, together with more models who were contractually obligated to act like store mannequins.
Save for a few dyslexic guests, no one came in T-shirts and jeans that glitterati-heavy early morning. It was almost like that Gossip Girl episode — the one with the Kiss On The Lips dance thing – except instead of underage party peacocks, there were business tycoons, aspiring starlets, certified stylistas, and reliable alcoholics in their prom-like best. It was — wait for it — legendary.
“For the first time, clubbers showed up early and they looked really good in their suits and cocktail dresses,” adds Embassy’s resident club promoter, Ivan Zalameda. “It was truly the evolution of Manila’s number one dance club — a refreshing night worth remembering!”
Maybe my brain became numb after one too many Bombay Sapphires, but I was hard-pressed to name another establishment with the same high-end credibility. I then turned to Tim, who had this to say: “This is also just the beginning. Coming soon is Embassy Fly, an all R&B club which opens on New Year’s Eve, and a separate Members Only club which will open on my birthday next year, 2008.” Now bringing things to a supreme new level, Embassy is a place — an experience — our generation can really call our own.
