Dubbed Fluxxe! Whatever Thursdays, the weekly hamfest of scores of fashion-forward kids preening to the cameras of like-minded youngsters, has grown bigger since its original inception as a random (hence the title "whatever") dance joint for people with a certain kind of taste. Just to give you a hint: Diddy has no place on the playlist.
Hosted by artist Kiko "Kikimachine" Escora and designer Gian "Gigee" Romano, this party scene has become a tableau of, for lack of a better word, hipsters at gridiron playing a game of sartorial one-upmanship.
Anyone hoping to enter the gates of Fluxxe, located these days at Greenbelt 3’s Absinthe, must first master the signature pose: arms akimbo (to show a cool indifference) or hands placed firmly at the waist (meant only for those fasyon enough to pull it off), lips pursed, one eyebrow cocked and hair flipped neatly over one eye.
Haven’t quite got the hang of it yet? Check out www.anothernightout.com, a site filled with kids trying their best to work said pose.
The party began roughly two years ago when Gian Romano and Kiko Escora grew tired of the same old same old. Soon flyers for Fluxxe, created by Romano and company, were everywhere. (Okay, maybe not everywhere, but I always managed to find a few in my purse every time I did my weekly purse purging.)
"It started out back in July of 2005 when we wanted an alternative to the familiar and generic music scene that was happening," says Gigee. "We wanted to play the music that we liked and actually invited people who had the same musical taste as us to share their music – from electro, pop, rock, punk, new rave, new wave and alternative."
Quickly enough, people were lining up to take over the DJ booth – from Miggy Chavez of Chicosci, Diego Mapa of Pedicab, Diego Castillo of Sandwich, Mich Dulce of Death by Tampon (the designer/reality TV star also moonlights as artista for the show John and Sherly) and Ean of Up Dharma Down.
Fluxxe has garnered enough fans and worshippers to fill an entire blog. STAR columnist Cecile Van Straten’s style watch blog, called Manila Style at http://mnlstyl.blogspot.com, is constantly filled with the best-dressed of the bunch.
So the next time you spot a cavalcade of kids in dark eyeliner striking a pose on a warm Thursday night, know that they’re probably part of Kikimachine and Gigee’s posse.