‘Travel Sense’

The internationally acclaimed 60-year-old Italian luggage brand Bric’s recently launched the Francesca Versace collection called “Travel Sense.” Its boutique can be found at the Shangri-La Plaza’s new East Wing and SM Aura. This is the first time Bric’s opened in Asia.

Travel Sense traces its origins from the cooperation between Bric’s and Francesca Versace, born in a family of fashion designers. The collaboration stems from an interaction between two different interpretations of travelling: Francesca, for whom travel is a reason for life; and Bric’s, whose core business is founded on “industry, travel, luggage and quality.”

This collaboration combines an interplay of different elements and strikes a perfect balance between technology, tradition, craftsmanship, functionality, quality and fashion.

The collection of bags and accessories revolves around the theme of travelling, which is re-interpreted through the recurring feature of a frame as an element that encloses an entire existence: dreams, desires, emotions and most especially moments that shape one’s life.

A frame — the overall theme selected by Francesca for the Bric’s FV Bags collection — reflects her personality and her natural talent. It also symbolizes one’s life: dreams, wishes, emotions and moments.

Attilio Briccola, Bric’s commercial director, said, “This partnership showcases the unmistakable style of Francesca Versace and the performance of reliable and durable materials, craftsmanship and avant-garde technology that characterizes the brand.”

The recent launch at the new East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza was graced by no less than Italian Ambassador Massimo Roscigno, who stressed on the growing and encouraging entry of Italian brands in the country. Also at the event  were the Asia-Pacific distributors of Bric’s (who were in-country for their sales conference) and a number of special guests like Ms. Universe 2011 third runner-up Shamcey Supsup, Cecille Zamora van Straten, officers and models of the Professional Models Association of the Philippines (PMAP) and others from the media  and retail industry.

As the brand moves forward with the Travel  Sense collection, it continues with its on-going progress with research, tradition, innovation and functionality in all its collections including Life, Life Pelle and the Pininfarina.

The program began with a few words from Ambassador Roscigno followed by a mini-fashion show of the core collections carried by Bric’s. It culminated with the presentation of the Francesca Versace collection by no less than Francesca Versace herself.

Guests were then ushered to the front of the store to be treated to a presentation that traced the journey of the Francesca Versace collection from Milan to its new home in the Philippines. The entire store facade was constructed to look like the Bric’s Milan store in Vittorio Emanuele. After the presentation, the covering of the façade was dramatically moved to the sides as it revealed the night’s distinguished guests:  Attilio Briccola, Shamcey Supsup, Francesca Versace, Shangri-La Plaza’s Lala Fojas and Edwin Ngo, president of 128 Dream Fountain Corp., the local partner of Bric’s.

(Visit Bric’s at the new Shangri-La Plaza East Wing and at the ground floor of SM Aura. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/pages/Brics-Philippines/.)

Farewell, Ambassador Lillie!

HSBC president and CEO Wick Veloso recently hosted a luncheon at Makati Shangri-La’s Red to warmly bid farewell to British Ambassador Stephen Lillie. Ambassador Lillie ended last month his four-year stint in the Philippines.

Veloso highlighted the significant support of the British Embassy in the success of the banking industry in the areas of trade and investment as well as in corporate sustainability. He said the British Embassy has played a vital role in maximizing commercial opportunities, with the UK being one of the largest foreign investors in the Philippines.

Veloso said, “Thank you, Ambassador Lillie, for your valuable support and friendship. We, at HSBC, take pride in being a British company as we continue to serve customers and help fulfill their dreams and financial aspirations for almost 138 years now. We are also proud to share the same advocacy as yours in furthering education, as underpinned by our Chevening Scholarship partnership. You may be returning to your homeland, but I leave you with our commitment to support scholars to become global leaders, and together make a meaningful impact in the development of the country.”

Ambassador Lillie, who has also promoted the Philippines’ tourism campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” said, “My four-year stint in the Philippines has been great and exciting. As I have always said, there is no better time to be a British Ambassador in Manila than now. The British government is keenly aware of this region’s potential, with the Philippines capturing positive attention at the center of ASEAN. It really is more fun in the Philippines! Thank you for all the support and warm hospitality. I promise to stay connected with you all.”

Red returns for two nights only

Red is a multi-awarded play about the abstract expressionist Mark Rothko. It is written by John Logan, who is also the screenwriter of The Last Samurai, Gladiator and Any Given Sunday. The play speculates about the intriguing origins of a collection of Rothko artworks now displayed at the Tate Gallery in London.

In 1958, Rothko is commissioned to paint a series of murals for the cutting-edge Seagram Building on Park Avenue. After completing the works, he mysteriously decides to keep the paintings and returns every penny of the advance. Years later, the artist donates his artworks to the Tate Gallery in London and on the very day they arrive at the gallery, he commits suicide.

The play introduces a fictitious assistant who engages Rothko in arguments and conversations that ultimately make us understand why Rothko might decide to withdraw his work from the commission.

Playing Rothko is theater veteran Bart Guingona, who is also the director of Red. His fictitious assistant Ken is played by another veteran thespian, Joaquin Valdes. Bart is known for playing intense, driven characters (Hamlet, John Proctor and Oedipus to name a few) while Joaquin, who started his career at the age of nine (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), is carving out a name for himself as a film and commercial director.

Red is a dramatic look at the artistic process and it is both gripping and emotional and never less than intelligent. In a series of scenes, the two characters trade wit and barbed emotions provoking us to think about the tension between art and commerce, the cycles of fashion and obsolescence, the dynamics between teacher and student, and most touchingly, the relationship between forebear and offspring.

The play will be mounted for just two nights at Teatrino in Greenhills on Aug. 23 and 24 through the efforts of the UP School of Economics Alumni Association and the UPSE Class of ‘88, which is celebrating its silver jubilee this year.

John Logan’s Red was made possible with support from Bono Gelato and Hudson Paints.

(For tickets and inquiries, call Ticketworld at 891-9999 or 0917-8170463.)