Your fashion destination

Everything fun and fabulous was in the spotlight at The Ramp in Glorietta. Leading the revelry was model, host and The Ramp endorser Teresa Herrera as the fashion conscious set enjoyed a special preview of the brand’s summer collection.

Models strutted the summer season’s key pieces like jumpsuits, sheer tops and glam swimwear from Lucca, Wildflower, Amber, Abrace, United Pop and Faith Hope Love. Guests were given the limited edition of The Ramp Couture Club Card for their special shopping privileges. Summer must-haves were also raffled off to lucky guests.

 More than being about fashion and summer season, the event was a testimony of the Filipino talent. The Ramp houses talented local designers for its in-house brands — such as Gayle Gozum for Wildflower, Richie Ortega for United Pop and Donna Cuna-Pita for Abrace. The Ramp is the fashion destination for everything — from the trendy to the classy — at recession-friendly prices.

The Ramp has shops in Crossings Edsa Shangri-La Plaza, Crossings Quezon Ave., Crossings TriNoma, The Ramp Podium and The Ramp Glorietta.

(For more information visit www.crossings.com.ph)

A fresh concept for the tech savvy

The Dell concept store is finally open! This is a place where Dell Philippines can have opportunities to cater directly to its end users, students, gamers, small-scale business operators and homeowners.

Dell opened its fourth concept store in the Philippines at the new SM North Edsa Cyberzone. This is done in cooperation with Electroworld, one of Dell’s strategic partners in reselling Dell-branded consumer products. The Dell concept store displays a full line of Dell products. It currently includes Dell Inspiron, Studio XPS and Studio laptops and desktops, which were launched in the country just last year.

Dell Philippines consumer retail channels director Jerry Lacson says, “The concept store will be here for those who want to learn more about Dell and for the existing Dell users to consult any of their concerns that their machines have.”

As more and more Filipinos are becoming tech savvy, Dell is making it an easy, accessible and unique digital experience for the Filipino consumers.

There are three other concept stores located in SM Mall of Asia, Cyberzone SM Marikina and Cyberzone North Wing SM Cebu.

The opening was attended by head of merchandising of Electroworld Joanne Tan and Dell Philippines consumer retail channels senior marketing manager Karen Gonzales.

(For more information, visit www.dell.com or www.dell/conversations.)

NEC taps potent business industries

It cannot be denied that several companies have been affected by the global economic crisis. Amidst these difficulties, there are industries that continue to flourish. The retail and food and beverage markets are not slowing down. More and more retail shops and restaurants are opening up and others are even expanding to more places.

 There is a potential for these industries to soar high in the business world. NEC Corp. saw the possibilities of growth and has developed a new product to tap these businesses. NEC Philippines just introduced to the NEC TWINPOS3500G1 product at Milky Way Restaurant (where the best baby crispy pata can be had!) on Pasay Road, Makati City.

The product introduced was the new NEC compact Touch Screen POS terminal. NEC Philippines Inc. business development manager for IT platforms and solutions Roehl Macapagal talked about the new product that is compact in design, reliable, stable and efficient. NEC believes that the TWINPOS3500G1 is cost-effective and can provide exemplary services to have the retail and F&B businesses become more efficient and be equipped for expansion. The NEC Philippines EVP Leonardo Santos and Masako Hirano of NEC Asia attended the briefing as well.

(For more information, call the NEC Philippines office at 848-6400 or e-mail [email protected].)

Craig David’s fashion ‘flava’

From the bling kings of hiphop to the trendy stars of pop, there’s no denying that today’s biggest music sensations are just as particular with their clothes, as they are with their music. And while superstars like Jay-Z and Madonna rely on an armada of personal stylists to get their signature looks, there are still a handful of artists who develop their trademark styles on their own. One of the latter is British R&B sensation Craig David.

Best known in the Philippines for his hits like What’s Your Flava and Rewind, Craig is one of the few stars who tend to favor a more casual, comfortable, and laid-back look. This multi-award winning singer and songwriter has fondness for jeans, t-shirts and trainers. However, it’s the small details on Craig’s outfits that always make the man look like a million bucks.

Usually seen wearing shirts and bleached out vintage denim from brands, Craig adds oomph to his outfits by pairing these day-to-day items with every male star’s best friend — the black leather jacket. Adding more flair to his trademark look is the occasional use of minimal accessories such as simple one-strand necklaces, knitted bonnets or dark-colored tassle scarves.

Craig’s self-confessed obsession with trainers is also apparent in his look. Among his favored brands of trainers are Nike, Adidas and Reebok. The star, who stores up to five pairs of each design in his closet, admits that having clean trainers is his ultimate pet peeve, and perhaps, best-kept fashion secret. “I just keep buying loads of trainers. Now that I usually don’t have time to clean my trainers, it just feels good to know that there are always more waiting for me to tuck my foot into,” he disclosed.

Aside from his clothes, Craig’s personal style is made even more recognizable by his impeccably maintained goatee and beard. It has also been the object of inspiration among the star’s male fans, a number of whom aspire to grow flawless facial hair themselves.

Craig’s signature style is often seen in the US and Europe, especially when he walks the red carpet to accept recognition for his works as a singer and songwriter. These events include the Ivor Novello Awards, MTV Music Awards and the Grammys. However, his fans in the Philippines will get a rare chance to see the R&B sensation in the flesh as Craig holds his Greatest Hits Concert at the Araneta Coliseum on March 27.

Tickets to the Craig David-Live in Manila are now available at all SM TicketNet outlets or call 374-2222, 374-9999 or 911-5555. Presented by Smart Gold, PLDT myDSL. Thanks to Rexona, Mossimo Music, San Miguel Beer, Edsa Shangri-La, ABS-CBN, ETC and The Philippine STAR.

(For more info, visit www.myworldmydsl.com)