Sarah Jessica for SM Aura: Global face for upscale mall

MANILA, Philippines - The star who portrayed Carrie Bradshaw, redefined chic and sexified our consciousness in ”Sex and the City” arrived in Manila without makeup and without any airs.

Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) refused to ride in the stretch limo provided by The Peninsula Manila, preferring to sit with her crew in a van.

“Just a regular suite, please,” she told The Pen which offered her their best suite at the top.

As SJP entered The Pen Lobby, the band played New York, New York, she stopped to listen till the end of the piece, after which she heartily applauded.

“I am quite different from the Carrie Bradshaw character I portrayed,” she once told James Lipton in The Actors’ Studio. Anna Wintour of Vogue describes her as “both a mythic American – the midwestern girl who came to Broadway to play Annie and became a star – and a down-to-earth citizen of the world.”

Unpretentious she certainly is. The 48-year-old star refuses to have a job done on her nose, and has said that she is not a big fan of collagen and Botox.

While wearing her beloved Blahniks on the TV/movie series, SJP preferred to go edgy and bohemian, mixing vintage jeans with Patricia Fields, Galliano and Halston redux. She has become the icon of a restless, modern generation seeking escape from the strict glamor of past eras.

A fashion icon such as Sarah Jessica Parker perfectly fits the concept behind SM Aura Premier at The Fort, the most exciting and newest upscale mall conceived under the leadership of SM bosses Tessie Sy-Coson for retail and marketing, and Hans Sy for mall design.

“SM Aura was created to serve the changing lifestyle of our customers. Everything that went into the planning of Aura is different from what we’ve done before,” explains Coson. It was Coson with her visionary grasp of ever-evolving fashions that transformed her father Henry Sy Sr.’s shoe store into a mega store that is fashion-forward. Today, the SM Stores include top-selling global brands coveted by both its faithful clientele and the finicky “A” market.

“As the new face of SM, Sarah Jessica Parker will dominate the store’s new campaign billboards and ads,” says SM VP for marketing Millie Dizon. “Her style is experimental and unparalleled. She can wear clothes as diverse as our fashion collections.”

As the next generation store, SM Aura with its total floor area of 249,861 square meters consists of a mall and an office tower with thoroughly modern design details. 

“With its sculptural form designed by Willy Coscolluela, SM Aura projects images from the elements of nature: the flow of water, the turbulence of air and the strata of the earth,” says Hans Sy. “The SM Engineering and Design Team enhanced it with sustainable operation: pollution and waste management systems are planned for maximum efficiency; a water treatment facility recycles water for non-potable use; a massive green roof reduces the heat island effect in the structure; and international green standards are strictly followed to ensure the efficient use of energy.”

Sy explains that SM Aura derived its name from two elements: gold (AU) and radium (RA), which when put together, evokes luxury and elegance. The chemical numbers of gold (79) and radium (88) – or 7,8 and 9 – are considered lucky.

Located at 26th Street corner McKinley Parkway at The Fort, SM Aura opens tomorrow to shoppers who will discover many firsts in this new lifestyle mall. Among these are Suiteblanco from Spain, and Stefal from Italy, BB Dakota, J Lindberg and Farah. Paul Boulangerie brought in from Paris by Ben Chan and his Bench family, NBA Cafe and Todd English Food Hall are new places to relish.

The SM Supermarket, Kultura, Watsons, Our Home and Toy Kingdom are there, as well as the young fashionistas’ favorite brands Forever 21 and Uniqlo. Movie buffs will delight in its IMAX Theater, two digital cinemas and two director’s club cinemas.

The Sky Park with its al fresco dining stands amid landscaped garden and water features. The Samsung Hall is an events place with a unique dome design set against a lush garden. Every SM mall has a chapel, and the one at SM Aura is dedicated to San Pedro Calungsod.

SM Aura has 1,771 parking slots for the convenience of its customers. There are also bicycle paths and landscaped recreational areas around it. SM Aura’s design team includes Miami-based Arquitectonica and the Sydney-based EDGE Design for the mall interiors.