Cebu's most stylish bring on the shine

MANILA, Philippines - If you find it strange that Preview magazine would go all the way to Cebu to celebrate its 15th anniversary party, don’t. “Cebu has always been a party town in our minds,” says Preview editor in chief Pauline Juan. And considering that their October issue is dedicated to this southern metropolis, even featuring Cebuana Kim Chiu on the cover, it was only logical to hold the magazine’s very first out-of-town party there. “It’s no secret that Cebu has always been a hotbed of design talent,” continues Pauline Juan. Furniture designers, it-girls, filmmakers, restaurateurs, musicians are all proud to call Cebu their home. But one of Cebu’s finest yields are its fashion designers, most of them with presence and following abroad: Monique Lhuillier, preferred by Hollywood brides, Dubai-based designers Cary Santiago and Furne One, local fave Jun Escario, Philip Rodriguez and Arcy Gayatin.

“Since Cebu has the country’s best designers, we were hoping that they, together with the city’s fashionistas, would celebrate with us — dressed in their finest fashion, of course.”

And Cebu society did flock to the Penthouse to party with Preview and some guests who specially flew in from Manila. Fully cognizant of the crystal theme (crystal is supposed to be the gift you give on one’s 15th anniversary), the city’s fab and fashionable came in embellished frocks, statement necklaces and sequin-studded shifts. “There’s a diverse range of personal style in Cebu. I thought I was going to see a bunch of girls in bodycon dresses,” expresses Juan. “It turned out that there was a range of styles, from bohemian to ladylike to architectural to glamour puss.”