Inno brings back the ’50s romance

Inno Sotto’s last collection staged at the palm-tree-lined garden of the Tower One and Exchange Plaza was pretty, a word not usually used to describe Inno’s works. Pink and yellow day dresses, empire-cut and bouffant evening gowns, in the colors of a debutante’s dream, were showcased along a 280-foot ground-level runway, with Frank Sinatra tunes and other standards playing in the background.

The designer was harking back towards the good old days of the pretty and impeccably put together fashion of the ’50s with his 50-piece collection, with minimal glitter except for the Swarovski-studded brooches pinned on the empire dresses and their multi-layered skirts.  There were lots of silk tulle pieces as well as organza and damask pieces.

The evening was called Alegra – Under the Pink Sky of the Secret Garden. Inno art directed the event for a collection that he has been working on since last summer. Architect Ramon Antonio was tapped to work on the set design. 

The show was presented by PLDT and Smart, in cooperation with BPI Preferred Banking, the Belo Medical Group, Ayala Land Inc., La Mer, ISM, Rustan’s Essenses, Philippine Tatler, Landco Pacific Corp. and Metro Pacific Corp. The show was directed by Ariel Lozada while Patrick Rosas and his team did the makeup and hair with Bergman Hair providing support. Fiori di M provided the flowers and Cibo di M prepared the cocktails. Mckuan was the segment and line producer for the recorded and live show soundtrack of the affair. Lending help for the event were Sound Check, Home Studio Inc., Rene Barbier wines and Freixenet Cavas.

Chicane in Manila

Team Bigfish’s party couple Domini and Joanne Primero with partner Pixie Cheah, who took over the late DJ TC’s (Tuck Cheah) task of booking international dance acts, returned with more than a bang as they brought back the much awaited return of Chicane (his real name is Nick Bracegirdle) in Manila!

It seemed like a reunion of familiar, old-schooled faces from Casino Filipino four years ago when Chicane first came over, added with today’s new breed of clubbers. Everybody just wanted to be there with the up and down rows of VIP tables encircling the World Trade Center. The venue was packed with approximately 8,000 (going in and out) people!

Kevin Ruiz’s opening warmed up the crowd with his trademark New York deep tribal house, filling up all corners of the venue. That and the grade-A production of Bigfish – crispy clear sound system, spectacular décor and lighting – were enough to make everyone ecstatic.

Chicane and his group then set the stage on fire as they opened with their latest single Turning Corners. Chicane surely gave us an all-new music experience with a unique direction with his latest hit Stoned in Love featuring Tom Jones on vocals. Being widely known to produce instrumental dance records, Manila was indeed privileged to witness Chicane’s evolution from dance music to diversified electronica, blending electronic know-how and dance grooves with rock guitars and lyrics. Chicane inserted classics dating back from 1997 in-between their new tracks, never failing to capture the crowd with his hits, most especially 2000’s big hit, No Ordinary Morning.

Of course, none of these would have been made possible without the support of Addict Mobile, Nokia and MYX. With this event, Team Bigfish proved to be the undisputed leader in international dance events promotions!

Hair mecca opens in Shangri-La Plaza

Basement Salon now opens its doors to the Ortigas market with its new two-story, 300- square-meter branch at the Ground Floor, Carpark Building, Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

The hair trend show in the evening featured the Davines Styling and Finishing Tools for Wizards, Davines’ latest line of tools for hairstylists.

Basement Salon wizards led by co-owner Stefan Wilczynski mesmerized the audience with hair trends to watch out for this year. Stefan adds, "We only use the most exceptional products and tools. Davines Styling Tools for Wizards are effective products that are easy to use by the professional stylist as well as the regular customer. When it comes to pampering from your tresses down to your toenails, we’ll do it all for you. We are combining German skills and techniques with world-class Filipino service and creativity. This is going to be the best salon this side of Manila."

Basement Salon clients can look forward to massages, scrubs, hair removal treatments, nail extensions and tanning sessions in the salon designed by Noel Bernardo.

Superman returns!

It has been a while since the last Superman movie was released so people have been anticipating the new Superman Returns movie directed by Bryan Singer (director of the first two X-Men and The Usual Suspects). The movie, starring Brandon Routh, opens in theaters this week but a few lucky people saw the film (which I think was great) in advance when Warner Brothers Pictures and SM Cinema had a premiere in SM Megamall. This was made possible by Cinema One, Hero, MYX and the Lifestyle Network with special thanks to Epson, Colgate and The Philippine Star. I am not a movie critic but I liked Superman Returns better than the other three Superman movies. Check out the unused footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El in the movie… even Manila was mentioned! Watch out for this sure hit.

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