Sensible fashions for everyday wear

MANILA, Philippines - Effortless strength and understated cool reflect Banana Republic’s fall collection. Personifying these traits are five of the most successful career men and women in their respective industries: President of GMA Films Annette Gozon-Abrogar, interior design consultant Marilen Faustino-Montenegro, photographer Philip Sison, and Drs. Arnel and Ome Nuguid.

The top honcho of the film arm of GMA network, Annette Gozon-Abrogar also manages to fulfill more roles for the network. Aside from being a program consultant to the GMA president and her father — Felipe Gozon — she is also involved in the drama sub-committee, which conceptualizes the network dramas, and heads GMA Worldwide Inc., the subsidiary that purchases canned programs and sells them to countries abroad.

Even with her hands full, Annette manages to balance her time and fulfill the most important role in her life — being a wife and mother of two kids. Annette and her kids enjoy simple things like going to malls and playing tennis together. She shares that planning her schedule well and technology allow her to spend time with her family. “I can be connected to work via cell phones and through the Internet. I also try not to schedule meetings after 6 p.m. so I can be home for dinner and have time to teach my kids their homework.”

First-time mom, interior design consultant, host, and model Marilen Faustino-Montegro has the same take on prioritizing family. Having given birth two months ago to a baby boy, Marilen is more focused and hands-on as she enthusiastically takes the mommy role.

“Now I have to cut the number of projects I take but I don’t consider it a loss,” she says. “I try to do things when the baby is asleep, or I bring my baby boy with me as I work with the help of our nanny.”

Marilen used to have a hectic schedule handling several projects her profession requires all at the same time. She takes on residential, resort and occasionally commercial projects meeting clients, planning, and shopping for accessories or furniture. On top of all that, she also hosts a weekly ultimate home improvement TV show and models on the side as part of the board of the Professional Models Association of the Philippines. But now, “I’m really focused on my baby, changing diapers and doing activities with him.” she shares.

As professionals and icons in their own fields, these two women share a preference for classic and sophisticated fashion. “I’m a bit conservative with what I wear, I like comfortable clothes. I don’t like itchy fabrics and too tight-fitting clothes,” Anette says. On more casual days she goes to work in a pair of jeans and a basic top, which she considers essential to her wardrobe aside from a carryall bag. Marilen also prefers to stick to the basics like neutral colors, classic cuts instead of bright colors and prints as it gives a more classy and sophisticated look. In line with her profession, her essential wardrobe pieces are “a good pair of jeans, a crisp white polo, a black dress, shawls or cardigans I can throw over a top and leggings.”

Three well-respected and established gentlemen in the fields of art and medicine are photographer Philip Sison and pediatricians Dr. Arnel and Ome Nuguid.

Having worked as an investment banker before pursuing photography, Philip Sison enjoys the beauty of an unpredictable day at work. “I can start my day at 6 p.m. and end it at midnight if I’m lucky. Each day is different. You don’t know who you’ll meet and there’s something new you learn every day.”

Starting out as a hobbyist when he was in grade school and doing photography on the side while working in a bank for 16 years, Philip decided to go full-time as a photographer in 2005.

“In photography the demands are very personal. Sometimes my personal time becomes secondary in order to fulfill my commitments.” He says that rest is time spent with his wife and three children and they enjoy traveling out of town or the country a couple of times a year.

Travel is even more a luxury for doctors Arnel and Ome Nuguid, who are identical twins and both pediatricians. Their responsibility as doctors to their patients is 24/7 as they are two of the few doctors who also do house calls aside from working in a hospital. They rarely get to travel together, wanting to make sure “there’s always a Dr. Nuguid in town.”

“We have different set of patients and we tend to get compared with one another, but it never gets in the way of our relationship as brothers,” Dr. Ome says.

Sharing three clinics in different hospitals in the metro, the Nuguid twins manage to squeeze workouts every day to stay fit and find time to spend with family and relatives.

These three guys believe that what you wear is an extension of your lifestyle and most importantly of yourself.

For Philip, the color black was a staple but now he wears more colorful clothes and experiments with style, but still keeps on a pair of jeans and sneakers. For doctors Arnel and Ome Nuguid, facing patients well-groomed and dressed well makes all the difference. “We don’t go in front of patients looking so sloppy.”

Dr. Arnel is more adventurous and experiments in dressing up choosing a bow tie as one of his essential wardrobe pieces, while Dr. Ome chooses to stick to the basic long sleeves.

This season, Banana Republic’s latest collection revolves around contrasting textures, thoughtful tailoring and effortless modernity. With each piece possessing enduring versatility and limitless opportunities for mixing, the line creates the perfect canvas to display one’s own individual style.

“Today there‘s no separation between what we wear to work, to play, to unwind,” notes Simon Kneen, Banana Republic creative director and EVP of design. “For fall, a series of opposing pairings — masculine shapes with feminine details, utilitarian essentials with tailored finery, romantic touches with military classics — creates a modern energy that suits every time and place.”

Banana Republic is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by Casual Clothing Specialists, Inc. (CCSI), a subsidiary of Stores Specialists, Inc., and is available at Greenbelt 5 and Rustan’s Department Store Makati.