Mad as a hatter, happy as a birthday!
MANILA, Philippines - Most people look forward to the month of January because it signals a fresh start for a brand-new year, but to those close to Philippine STAR’s own Tim Yap, it signifies another year in the life of the country’s premier eventologist, TV host, and columnist. He spent his actual birthday last Jan. 17 with the children of the Virlanie Foundation and after each of them made a wish, they dramatically released 50 lovebirds to the heavens. A week after, Tim came up with another theme party that messed with his invitees’ heads — literally, and in a good way! His Mad Hatter’s Birthday Ball was held last Jan. 24 at the Marriott Ballroom in Resorts World Manila. Wearing an impeccably tailored suit by Rajo Laurel (in neon green, natch!) and a top hat by Lady Gaga’s personal milliner, Mouton Collet, Tim set the bar for the night’s headgear.
Not that the bar could ever be set too high, as evidenced by Georgina Wilson who donned the Biggest Hat of the night: A four-foot high feathered cocktail hat designed by Jun Jun Ablaza. Not to be outdone was Georgina’s own cousin Belle Daza, who won Best Hat by pairing a long gown with her mother Gloria Diaz’s own Miss Universe 1969 crown. For daring to be the designated head turners for the night, both Georgina and Belle each took home an iPhone 4S from Globe’s Dong Ronquillo, a Magic Sing from Orville Roque, and a Year of the Dragon Swatch watch from Virgie Ramos. Other head toppers that made Tim’s head spin included the Most Surreal Hats, which were DJ Mark Gueco’s authentic deer antlers (also by Jun Jun Ablaza), and Andre Chang’s embellished peaked cap. The night’s Wittiest Hat belonged to Astrud Crisologo whose hat was a cage with birds inside.
Alert The Millinery
A Tim Yap party is where the showbiz and entertainment, fashion, art, and society crowds all converge to have a great time. Wanting to throw a unified theme that would encompass the avant-garde, the posh, and even the indie, the Mad Hatter theme was a concept that everybody had fun with. Most of the ladies wore pretty cocktail hats, while the men went for newsboy caps — one guest even arrived wearing an orange traffic cone! While almost everybody followed the one dress code for the night (Read: Wear a hat!), some managed to forget their head accessories at home. Luckily, SM Accessories was on hand to cover up some unadorned heads.
Birthday Blow-Out
The night’s festivities were covered by Anita Kapoor of Discovery Channel, while DJ Mars Miranda and DJ FunkAvy kept the crowd dancing, including Vegas DJ Eric D-Lux and Shante Black of Blackstreet, a well-known figure in the hip-hop world. Tim made sure that his guests had plenty to drink that night, especially since in attendance were club owners from Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Helping guests hit the hard liquor were Johnnie Walker, Belvedere, Jose Cuervo, Absolut Vodka, Chivas Regal, Jacob’s Creek, Grey Goose, Cointreau, and Chandon.
The program was kicked off with a neon dragon dance, followed by a black light performance by the Enlightened Black Theater. When the time came to blow out the candles of Tim’s top hat birthday cake by Goldilocks, he called all the January birthday celebrants to share his moment with him. All Year of the Dragon celebrants went home with Year of the Dragon Swatch watches. Of course, the celebrants weren’t the only ones who got a piece of the sweets, as the attendants fingered pretty little confections by Villa Del Conte Chocolates and dessert creations by The Purple Fountain.
The fun continued with performances by Janjay Conquilla, Karylle, who killed it with her version of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, a surprise performance by Annette Gozon-Abrogar, Lovi Poe, and Rajo Laurel, and duets by Tessa Prieto-Valdes and JM Rodriguez, and Garlic and Aljur Abrenica. Looking at his crowd of friends and well-wishers wearing all different kinds of hats that ranged from the mundane, to the artistic, the beautiful, and just plain strange, Tim expressed his thanks and told his guests, “My hat’s off to all of you.”
As the night wound down and the after-parties began, 300 guests went home with goody bags filled with flip flops from Fila (because it’s good luck to give them on Chinese New Year — they give direction to the bearer), Zen Zest linen sprays, Folded & Hung room sprays, and beauty products from Belo.
Those we weren’t able to attend the festivities shouldn’t fret, though because Tim has a lot store for everybody. “There are major surprises coming our way this 2012. Expect new shows, new clubs and new collaborations coming up. This year is definitely going to be exciting and dynamic! ” he hints. If his party is any indication of what to expect, we definitely can’t wait.
