How Versace makes people smile

MANILA, Philippines - Santo Versace’s visit to the Philippines was rather quiet. He wasn’t in Manila to launch a store or a collection, nor was he here to party. The president of Versace SpA and brother of Donatella and the late Gianni Versace was in town as guest of real estate firm Century Properties and as an ambassador for Operation Smile Italy, of which he is president. There were barely any fashion press and insiders sycophanting about. Instead, welcoming Versace to Manila that Saturday night were Jose and Robbie Antonio of Century, Roberto Manzano, Operation Smile Philippines’ president and Versace’s counterpart, some lifestyle press and a 15-year-old girl named Chadleen Lacdo-o who has a tremendous story.

Chadleen Lacdo-o was born with a cleft palate, a congenital facial deformity that, though not fatal, hampered the little’s girl’s ability to talk. Lacdo-o did not speak a word until she was four years old, when Operation Smile, a non-governmental organization that conducts surgical missions and repairs cleft palates and cleft lips for free, repaired her defect. 

Fab collab: Santo Versace, president of the Versace Group visited Manila to celebrate with Robbie Antonio, managing director of Century Properties, for the collaboration between Milano Residences and Versace Home.

Now, at 15, Lacdo-o, who can eerily pass for Charice Pempengco’s sister, is not just a confident speaker but an able singer as well. She was a finalist for TV singing competition Little Big Star, fronted for David Pomeranz when he visited in 2009 and travels the world as an ambassador for Operation Smile. That Saturday night of Santo Versace’s visit, she sweetly sang Mariah Carey’s Hero, at one point earnestly taking Santo Versace’s hand as a show of gratitude.

Lacdo-o is one of the 24,000 children whose lives were bettered because of Operation Smile. Each surgery costs P15,000 and takes up 45 minutes. Now, Century has just given about 16 more children a chance at a normal life by donating P250,000 to the organization. Robbie Antonio, managing director of Century Properties, also promised an additional P50,000 for each Milano Residences unit sold during the cocktail event held that night.

One of the newest luxury properties of the real estate company, Milano Residences is a posh 52-story high-rise set in the center of Makati that boasts interiors created by Versace Home. The building’s grand lobby, hallways, lounge, library, pool garden and spa will feature furniture, wallpaper, cornices, tiles and trimmings by Versace Home. The luxe lifestyle brand will also create interior inspirations that residents may adopt for their own units. Sleek leather beds, bubble couches, plush dining set, Italian tiles and bathroom fixtures are part of these interior options. Unit owners also have the option to purchase Versace Home items — imagine eating from a Versace porcelain plate and feeding from a spoon embedded with the classic Versace Medussa logo. This is the first residential development collaboration for Versace in Southeast Asia and as Antonio proudly announced, the fastest-selling Versace-styled property in the world. (Though slated to turn over in 2015 still, the project, launched just last January, is close to 70 percent sold.)

Apart from witnessing Century’s check donation to Operation Smile, Santo Versace was in Manila “to celebrate the project created with Century Properties, of which I am particularly proud. Milano Residences is a project that will allow future inhabitants to really know and live the Versace lifestyle. Versace is not just one of the most famous fashion brands in the world, but is also universally recognized as the brand that, since its birth, has succeeded in combining fashion and art in an indissoluble way, which had never been done before.” Versace Home has been creating elegantly luxurious residences for over a decade and the chance to live in a world-class place like Milano Residences is sure to uplift unit owners’ spirits and image. Or, at least bring a smile to their faces.

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For more information of Milano Residences, log on to www.milanoresidences.com or call 793-5500.

For more information on Operation Smile, log on to www.operationsmile.org or call 811-9740.

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