Salute to the Volcanoes

Rugby balls and tuxedoes mixed merrily one night when the members of Philippine Volcanoes attended the “Fila’pinas” official jersey presentation at the Prince Albert Rotiserrie of the InterContinental Hotel in Makati City.

Fila’s Cris and Butch Albert with their son Carlo welcomed guests with free-flowing champagne and a sumptuous sit-down dinner. Gambrinus Bar also provided shrimp, pepperoni and baba ganoush hors d’oeuvres to complete the trademark “Albert party.” Dinner consisted of roasted vegetables and scallops for starters followed by soup and a main course choice of Prince Albert’s famous prime rib or fish.

The hotel lobby was turned into Fila and Volcanoes gallery with guests taking their refreshments as Sub Projekt’s R&B tunes played in the background. 

Hosts for the night were Tim Yap and Tessa Prieto-Valdes. Philippine Rugby Football Union president Rick Santos and Volcanoes captain Michael Letts also shared their insights about the team and the future of rugby in the country. Cris then presented official Fila jerseys to the Volcanoes, symbolically cementing the partnership between the brand and the team. 

The players of Volcanoes are currently enjoying their spot in the limelight as the country’s newest heroes. They will fly to Moscow at the end of this month to prove their mettle at the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The Philippine team is set to battle Kenya, Samoa and Zimbabwe on June 28 and 29. 

It was a great night to see old friends and catch up with the Philippine Volcanoes!

Welcome, Stefanel!

An unforgettable trunk show was held when Stefanel, through its local partner Nuovo Moda Concepts Inc., launched its first store in the Philippines at SM Aura in Taguig City.

Guests walked into a space surrounded by huge images of Stefanel’s ad campaign as realized by Mario Testino and Stephen Gan. They were then treated to music and a trunk show with the models weaving in and out of the crowd, who enjoyed the never-ending bubbly by Fifi L’Amour. Tessa Prieto-Valdes hosted the event graced by Stefanel CEO Guiseppe Stefanel who flew to Manila just for the event.

The first Stefanel flagship store in the Philippines is a one-floor shop with 105-square-meter space designed to showcase its ladies’ collection. The store design and fittings were all done by the celebrated Italian design firm Iride.

All of Stefanel’s design specifications had to be imported from Italy down to the stool in the changing rooms. The Italian brand was founded more than half a century ago and has now more than 450 stores in 30 countries.

Viva Beso!

The Spanish culture and festivities were the highlights of Beso Cucina Vinoteka’s first anniversary recently.

Chef Carlo Miguel served the guests with a special three-course dinner with a spread of new tapas, top-seller main courses and desserts. There was also calamansi sangria.

DJ Patch played Latin house music followed by a special live performance from flamenco dancers with the percussions of Bacolod-based group Gruppo Tribale.

Throughout the night, guests enjoyed Camus cocktails like Highball, Sidecar and In Between. A selection of Russian Standard cocktails also took the spotlight with Moscow Mule, Caipiroska and Cosmopolitan.

(For reservations at Beso, call 621-2554 and 0917-819-5831. For private functions and event bookings, look for Dana Manuel at 0917-520-3631.)