Meeting Tory Burch in Shanghai

I attended the opening of the flagship store of Tory Burch in Shanghai not as a member of the press but as a guest. I just decided to write about this to share Tory Burch’s remarkable rise as a well-known brand, which does not forget to give back by being an advocate of corporate social responsibility and women empowerment.

Tory Burch, chairman, CEO and designer of Tory Burch LLC, hosted a special event at the company’s Kerry Centre flagship in Shanghai to celebrate the store’s launch and the brand’s expansion in China. The cocktail party guests included Asian influencers such as Zhang Ziyi, Kim Hee-Sun, Niki Chow, Yoyo Cao, Emma Pei and You Tian Yi, who was featured in the Tory Burch Watch campaign.

Upon arrival at the Kerry Centre boutique, guests encountered a New York skyline created from boxwood hedges. Inside the boutique, the crowd explored the nearly 10,000-sq.-ft. store while listening to music by Manhattan’s DJ Mad Marj. After the ceremonial ribbon cutting done by Tory, Ziyi and Hee-Sun, a marching band paraded from the Kerry Centre plaza into the boutique to perform a drum-line routine in Tory Burch bow ties.

The friendly designer talked to most guests and obliged to have her photo taken with most of them. The huge flagship store featured her new clothes, bags and home accessories. Tory even gave me her signed coffee table book for me to remember this momentous occasion.

The event also marked the debut of the brand’s China Exclusive Collection, a limited-edition 20-piece capsule of ready-to-wear and accessories in special fabrications and chic silhouettes, which draw inspiration from the style of New Yorkers. These special pieces were presented in a special window concept, featuring mannequins surrounded by hexagonal folding screens, inspired by Tory’s favorite candle holders from interior designer Albert Hadley.

While in Shanghai, Tory also hosted a mentoring event for Chinese women entrepreneurs on behalf of the Tory Burch Foundation in partnership with Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women program. The foundation supports the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs and their families in the US through low-cost loans, mentoring and entrepreneurial education.

(Stores Specialists Inc. distributes Tory Burch in Manila.

Visit www.toryburch.com.)

Photos by Pepper Teehankee on a Canon PowerShot S100 and certain photos by Noa Griffel

A bigger family for LG

In its bid to end the year with a bang, the premium mobile segment of global technology innovator LG Electronics, LG G family, introduces G3 Beat, G3 Stylus and G Watch R to the Philippine market.

The LG G3 Beat and Stylus are products of the multi-award-winning smartphone LG G3. Carrying the best features of the highly acclaimed flagship, these new offerings allow Filipino consumers to have the G3 experience at a more affordable price.

LG’s proprietary Rubberdium stylus pen slides inside the G3 Stylus, which feels comfortable in any hand and complements the phone’s 5.5-inch large display. Users can pair it with LG’s QuickMemo+ to take notes or draw directly on images or maps in a breeze. The stylus is also compatible with a number of third-party handwriting and drawing apps.

The G3 Beat and G3 Stylus’ 8MP and 13MP shooters carry over the G3’s key camera features such as Touch & Shoot, Gesture Shot and Front Camera Light. Additional UX features that have become standard offerings across LG’s newest smartphones include Dual Window, Smart Keyboard and Knock CodeTM. They also have the same Floating Arc design with gradually tapered edges, thin bezels and metallic skin back cover that was first introduced on the LG G3. The devices also sport the revolutionary rear key.

The new LG G Watch R is the world’s first watch-style wearable to feature a fully circular Plastic OLED display at 1.3 inches and features a classic design encased in durable stainless steel and aluminum powered by a 410mAh battery, the largest in an Android Wearable to date. It is completely protected from dust and is water resistant up to 30 minutes at a maximum depth of one meter. When paired with a smartphone, the watch includes information on weather forecast, real-time traffic conditions, turn-by-turn navigations, stock market updates, social media notifications, and travel and restaurant updates.  The device also allows the user to track fitness goals and use the OK Google feature to send a text message, e-mail, or play songs through the Android Wear music.

Vice president for LG Philippines’ mobile division Jay Won said, “With the LG G3 Beat and Stylus, consumers get the same ‘G3 Simple is the New Smart’ experience at more affordable prices. With the LG G Watch R, they are provided with endless possibilities encased in a stylish and compact wearable device.”

(For more information, visit www.lg.com/ph, LG Mobile Philippines on Facebook or www.LGnewsroom.com.)

Return to paradise

It was great to be back in this year’s second “Reservations in Paradise” at Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa as general manager Amit Oberoi, F&B director Keith Rajan and executive chef Thibaut Pouplard acted as the generous hosts who welcomed a rather large group of gourmand guests for the weekend.  

The three-day epicurean journey is now on its fourth season. The festivity featured a series of wine pairings around the resort. Wines came from Marchesi Antinori, Champagne Billecart-Salmon and Paul Jaboulet Ainé. These renowned wineries provided us their carefully selected collection of wines, while the resorts international chefs under the leadership of French executive chef Thibaut created innovative dishes to enhance the flavors of the beverage. The event was sponsored by wine partner Bacchus International Inc., major sponsor Globe Platinum, Pulp Live World Productions and the Italian lifestyle brand Paul & Shark, which also opened its male and female boutiques at the lobby of the hotel.

The first night also marked the concert of young Croatian cellists Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, together known as 2Cellos. The duo rose to fame in 2011 when their version of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal took the world by storm. The YouTube video became a massive viral sensation leading them to a record deal with Sony Masterworks and an invitation to join Sir Elton John on his worldwide tour. 2Cellos’ performance in Boracay was co-produced by Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa Philippines with Vernon Go of Pulp Productions. A sumptuous dinner by the beach followed the concert.

Since it was a food weekend, a Champagne brunch followed the next day with cooking classes and a relaxing massage at Chi, The Spa. Sports activities also kept guests busy during the afternoon before another gourmet dinner at the Presidential Villa. A farewell breakfast followed that Sunday morning before guests left the paradise.

Reservations in Paradise is a by-invitation-only event but Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa can always fix such a delightful weekend for a couple to a party of 20, if needed. The resort can cater and prepare weekend packages suited to guests’ needs.

(Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa is located at Barangay Yapak, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan.  Tel. No. (6336) 288-4988. For more information, visit www.shangri-la.com/boracay/boracayresort or e-mail [email protected].)

The ‘selfeet’ phenomenon

Selfie, a social media craze, is taking the world by storm!

In line with this phenomenon, Ipanema, a Brazilian flip-flop brand, recently introduced #IpanemaSelfeet, a campaign that encouraged Filipinos to aim phone cameras lower, down to their feet.

Pinoys from all walks of life took an #IpanemaSelfeet. These included Azkals member Anton del Rosario and radio jock Gelli Victor at SM North EDSA, teen tandem James Reid and Nadine Lustre at Robinsons Ermita, Miss Philippines-Water 2012 Samantha Purvor at Ayala Center in Cebu and Tom Rodriguez at Abreeza Mall in Davao. The Davao stop was momentous as it coincided with the opening of Ipanema’s seventh concept store in Abreeza Mall. This concept store is the first in Davao.

ELRO Corp. is the distributor of Ipanema in the Philippines. Its managing director Patxi Elizalde said, “We are so happy that shoppers got a sense of adventure with our #IpanemaSelfeet campaign. So, if you’re planning on a weekend getaway, slip into your favorite Ipanema flip-flops and take an #IpanemaSelfeet.”

The campaign was launched at the brand’s newest store in SM North EDSA last September (covered in this column) and made its way to major malls such as Robinsons Ermita, Ayala Center Cebu and Abreeza Mall in Davao during the past few weeks.

Guests were encouraged to join #IpanemaSelfeet with a series of mall events dubbed as #IpanemaSelfeet Sundays. Mall goers had an exciting day as they joined games and raffles and got discounts on their Ipanema flip-flops. They also got to try on Ipanema’s new collection to take their #IpanemaSelfeet. They were also entertained by capoeira performers.

The fun continued online with the #IpanemaSelfeet contest on Facebook. Those who uploaded their selfeets on their Facebook account with the official hashtag #IpanemaSelfeet got freebies and had the chance to win a special accommodation at Punta Fuego in Batangas.

(Visit www.facebook.com/IpanemaPhilippines.)

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)