MANILA, Philippines - You just missed Lady Gaga!” Designer and scene muse Hindy Weber-Tantoco greeted me as I entered the halls of Members Only, disoriented with the flurry of black and white images and poles (yes, the ones meant for pole dancers) that the venue all of a sudden had. Ringmaster Louie Ysmael was on the bar looking very pleased, I could see very well for the usually dark bar was unusually well lit.
Hand it to Hindy for being more than able to transform any place she chooses to call home, even just for a night of fashion and fun — that’s why she’s the leader of the cult. Another time I recall a venue being spruced up by pink flamingos, and yet another time, neon signs. All roads leading to the red light district? Not. All fingers point to the empowered female — femme fatales of this world, unite! Your cult has come.
“Coquettish yet refined,” Hindy says with a wink, as my eyes hop from one frame to the next, classic poses and strong pouts of pensive sexuality all captured by visual sniper Mark Nicdao. Why, when you’re surrounded by beauty like Hindy and her muses, it’s easy to let the animal out within you. The girls you see on this Supreme page may seem sweet, but they all carry a big whip. This overt sexiness, okay, ferociousness, was just what Hindy brought out with her women, all Culte Femme fans.
Inspired by S&M, that pleasure and pain equation that blends the sartorial and the sensual, Hindy came out with peek-a-boo dresses, frocks adorned with lace, and lacy leggings for your personal pleasure, of course. Because only when you’re this happy can you command them to come hither.
That night, they all did. It was a sneak peak at Hindy’s Culte Femme collection, out next week through October at all Rustan’s Culte Femme stores. At the center of the Members Only bar was a lone TV screen showing a video shot by up-and-coming filmmaker Christian Acuna, a black and white behind-the-scenes covenant showing the ladies comfy in their Culte Femme. A burlesque show followed, with the muses leaving it up to your imagination — fully clothed, of course.
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