Romantic glam with Randy O.

Romantic glam inspired by the styles of showbiz and fashion personalities was showcased when Plains & Prints unveiled its new holiday collection in collaboration with fashion designer Randy Ortiz.

Held at the lobby of the Ayala Museum, the cocktail launch of Randy Ortiz for Plains & Prints saw guests mostly clad in their most stylish black and white garb.

Plains & Prints creative head and owner Roxanne Farillas said: “It has always been our goal to work with designers like Randy Ortiz who have made such a huge impact on the Philippine fashion industry. This collaboration has created a capsule collection that perfectly merged the signature looks of both Randy Ortiz and Plains & Prints.”

The collection featured a seven-piece ensemble inspired by Ortiz’s fashion muses Kris Aquino, Charlene Gonzalez-Muhlach, Claudine Barretto, Lucy Torres-Gomez, Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez, Gelli de Belen-Rivera and Ortiz’s own mother Lourdes Ortiz, whose love for fashion made a lasting impression on Randy as a person and designer.

Models wore tunic tops, dresses and blouses in jewel tones and printed patterns, and the special Randy Ortiz Prints in Red and Gray that incorporated the designer’s famous rosette texture and pattern. Also presented were new pieces from Plains & Prints’ Holiday 2009 Collection. Shoes worn by models were from Schu, jewelry by Jewelmer, cocktails and drinks by Future Trade International and Cointreau, respectively.

The apparel company also held a Buyer’s Night, which would help raise funds for the victims of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Twenty percent of the sales from pre-orders from guests will be donated to the flood victims.

Others seen at the event were Agot Isidro with husband Manu Sandejas, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Raymond Gutierrez, Allure’s Philip Cu-Unjieng, Bubbles Paraiso and Robbie Carmona.

Randy Ortiz for Plains & Prints is now available in all its more than 50 stores nationwide.

A triad at Firma

When jewelry artists Kristine Dee, Michelline Syjuco and Paul Syjuco work together, their collaboration is a force to reckon with. Take for example their Triad: An Approach to Futurism, which featured their works and was launched at Firma Greenbelt 3. Organized by Firma proprietors Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre and store manager Patty Gutierrez together with Ayala Malls, the show focused on a wide range of one-off, statement pieces.

Ciçou Restaurant’s chef Cyrille Soenen created special desserts inspired by the artists’ collections while wines were served by Rene Barbier. Guests were also treated to an amazing presentation by performance artists and poets Maxine and Trix Syjuco together with their band, Para Shakti Synthesis.

Industrial designer and jewelry artist Kristine Dee was inspired by images of a parallel universe from films like Star Wars Episode 2 and Aeon Flux. Michelline Syjuco created pieces that were bordering on the blasphemous and edgy, what with her futurism that was more “Flash Gordon” than George Lucas. Paul Syjuco’s futuristic inspiration came from science fiction films such as War of the Worlds, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, as well as computers and their internal components such as motherboards, microchips and schematics.

(For more information, please contact Firma at G/F, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati; tel. no. 757-4009 or e-mail [email protected])

Out of the black

Manila was given a taste of the future when PLDT MyDSL launched another first — WatchPad. During the packed launch called Out of the Black at The Establishment in The Fort, PLDT head honcho Manny Pangilinan toasted what he called a fusion of the richness of the Internet with the popularity of multimedia content.

Guests were treated to a sampling of WatchPad offerings like the 14 television channels on MyShows, video on demand movies on MyFlicks beginning with the films by Cannes Film Festival Best Director Brillante Mendoza and Paris Film Festival Best Director Jim Libiran. There were also games galore from Level Up! on MyArcade.

Also introduced that evening were MyView channel ambassadors Isabel Oli, Viktor Aliwalas, Steph Henares and Gino dela Pena. MyView will give MyDSL’s subscribers a new hang-out that offers self-help tips about fitness, fashion and gadgets.

Keeping the guests entertained throughout the evening was the high quality music of Jay Durias, Yosha, Marcus Davis and Ambre — all local vocals that can be seen loud and proud exclusively on MyView.

The venue was literally transformed into a dance club and guests partied till late. All in all, it was a one-of-a-kind event showcasing broadband at its best! A total Internet multimedia entertainment!

Catch it on PLDT Watchpad!