Red October

Wynn Wynn Ong Tells a Tale

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The Philippines

Home of the golden South Sea pearl

Abreeza Mall • Alabang Town Center • Ayala Center Cebu • Glorietta IV • Greenbelt 5 • Makati Shangri-La Hotel Shangri-La at The Fort • Shangri-La Plaza Mall • SM Mall of Asia • SM Megamall • The Peninsula Manila • Trinoma

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ON THE RADAR

Designer Directions

From the torn hems of an emerging provocateur to Hermès’ luxury laundromats WORDS OLIVIA ESTRADA A N D A R BY M E D I N A

New Normal

With black and white dresses made in delicate fabrics, there’s nothing of instant interest in Katie Roberts-Wood’s clothing line at first acquaintance. At second glance, though, the first collection from the designer’s eponymous label invites onlookers to take a closer look at the details: undone frills run down the sides, bows are wound tightly around the sleeves, and shorts are worn over pants for a two-paneled look. The combinations dare us to rethink everyday clothing and see how they can be made exciting again.

Instant Remake

Hermès pop-up luxury laundromats Hermèsmatics made appearances in four countries in preparation for the 80th anniversary of the brand’s iconic silk squares. The laundromats were launched in Strasbourg, Amsterdam, Munich, and Kyoto, allowing customers to dye their old scarves to renew colors and patterns that have faded through the years. The process, which takes 48 hours, was offered free of charge. Hermès will also soon feature a store that will sell scarves of various patterns dip-dyed in nine different shades in their workshops in Lyon, France.

Royal Shocker

Slowly building a cult following and acquiring a reputation as fashion’s youngest provocateur, Dilara Findikoglu unveiled her latest designs in a London strip club, presenting luxurious satin suits made more interesting with prison patches and biker symbols. Oversized sleeves and torn hems met starchy collars and baby pinks, creating a perfect opportunity for the more common folk to play dress up as eccentric royalty a la David Bowie.

Free Form

Under the wing of JW Anderson, Claudia Li practiced and mastered draping. She debuted her first gender-fluid collection, where the technique lent a softer touch to otherwise constraining denim.

With embroidery that says “Some guy’s sweatshirt” and flipped-up sleeves and hems, Li’s designs present a fun, wearable, and somewhat subversive spirit.

Tricia Centenera at the Lacoste Spin-A-Wheel activity SPECIAL FEATURE

Form and Fantasy Audrey Ednacot, Nani Laurel, Bianca Brandner

Shebby Liquete fishing at La Prarie’s Catch of the Day activity

Issa Litton

Exclusive invites, amazing promos, and first dibs on exclusive products only from Rustan’s The Beauty Source

Kiana Valenciano trying out games at the iColor booth

At one of the most anticipated events of the year, one retail powerhouse celebrates beauty with fun and games WORDS OLIVIA ESTRADA

Now on its fourth annual year, Rustan’s Beauty Addict Event entitled “So Surreal,” sponsored

by Moët and Chandon and Metrobank Femme Card, was held last Sept. 15 in celebration of skincare and cosmetics, with various activities set up in every corner of Rustan’s Makati. With music blasting from the DJ’s booth, makeovers at the MAC station, hand massages at the Hermès booth, and photoshoots at the Chanel corner happened simultaneously.

With a DJ booth and party canapes from Bizu, beauty addicts celebrated a night of beauty with their favorite brands. Games at the La Prairie, Sisley, Creed, Stila, Jane Iredale, and Nars booths offered participants an opportunity to know more about these iconic brands as they enjoy a product sample or two to try. Refreshments and snacks were provided by L’Occitane and Neil’s Yard Remedies. The amusement, which started at 5 p.m., lasted until 10 p.m., with the participants’ bags full.

The much-anticipated event is the biggest beauty event of the year, where certified Beauty Addicts got an exclusive invite to, a priority slot in the guest list, plus a bag and a map to get them through all the activities. For those who’ve yet to apply for membership, any single-receipt purchase worth P2,500 qualifies one to get the card, opening up a world of beauty exclusives from Rustan’s The Beauty Source.

Metrobank Femme Card

President of Rustan Commercial Corporation, Donnie Tantoco

Vanessa Matsunaga Moët & Chandon

Marketing Communications Manager, Jackie Avecilla

Nicole Andersson, taking over @RustansTheBeautySource Instagram account Janina Manipol getting her hand massage at Hermès

Makeup session with MAC and Chanel Jenny Rockett

Patty Grandidge joining in the Lip Party at Estée Lauder Performances by Brazilian DJ Eduardo Lara and Beauty Queen Christi McGarry

ATTIRED

Back to the Wild Following the fabricated trails of flora and fauna

MAKEUP CLAIRE SEELIN-DIOKNO OF SHU UEMURA HAIR RICKY DIOKNO MODEL NATALIA PEÑA

P H OT OGRAP H Y PAT RICK S E GOV IA S T YL IN G N IM U M UAL L AM

Opposite page: Scarf, Hermès, Greenbelt 5; Giverny earrings, Tutti Frutti earrings, and Dolce Rosa earrings, all from Jewelmer Joaillerie, The Peninsula Manila.

This page: Scarf, Gucci, Greenbelt 4; Royal Oak Classic, Audemars Piguet, Greenbelt 5; Reverso Tribute Calendar, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Greenbelt 5; Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, IWC, Greenbelt 5.

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Scarf, Tory Burch, Greenbelt 5; Beetle earrings, Wynn Wynn Ong, www.wynnwynnong.com.

Scarf, Louis Vuitton, Greenbelt 4; Serpenti rings, all from Bvlgari, Greenbelt 4.

BUILDING BIG IDEAS BUILDING BIG IDEAS FOR YOUR HOME FOR YOUR HOME

Visit stores at:at: Visitour ournewly newlyopened opened stores

•• •• •• LIKE AND LIKE AND FOLLOW ON FOLLOW USUS ON

/WilconDepot.ph /WilconDepot.ph

Wilcon WilconI.T. I.T.Hub HubininMakati Makati Bacoor, Cavite Bacoor, Cavite Sta.Rosa, Sta.Rosa,Laguna Laguna

www.wilcon.com.ph www.wilcon.com.ph

Top, Gian Romano, info@gianromano.com; bracelet, Wynn Wynn Ong, www.wynnwynnong.com

ADMIRED

NEW MYTHOLOGY A storyteller celebrates 15 years of casting history in stone WORDS PRISTINE DE LEON P H O T O G R A P H Y J O S E P H PA S C U A L

There’s something weirdly whimsical and just a little bit absurd with the way Wynn Wynn Ong remembers her childhood in Burma: fishponds teeming with gems and the Moghak mountains birthing rubies in a blood-red haze. Maybe that’s why she was willing to do anything at the RED shoot, “save for hanging upside down.” Ong, clad in black, fields questions with a calm, motherly, and resolute tone, like an all-knowing film narrator in a favorite childhood film. “I used to think I don’t fear anything,” she says, with an unwavering seriousness that could make any far-fetched fable sound like fact.

For 15 years, the fantastical world of Wynn Wynn Ong has spawned a menagerie of gilded and waxcast creatures that are lauded for their painstaking intricacy as much as they are praised for being evocative historical emblems, lending some of our most hackneyed figures—Jose Rizal, pagan gods, trees—an added layer of enchantment.

“My 15th year [in the business] is a year of firsts,” says Ong. “I was thinking of ways to celebrate.

I am also an educator”—which explains the demeanor—“and I believe in being a lifelong learner. The best way to celebrate is doing something new.” This month, the designer is set to launch her first ever collaboration with a luxury brand, a project conceived during an exhibit that celebrated a history that

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was cast in stone. At a dinner for the Philippine Gold Exhibit in New York, where golden relics told of the country’s ancient rituals, expeditions, and beliefs, Ong met with Jewelmer Joaillerie’s Jacques Branellec, and both soon decided to enter their brands into a creative partnership. “It would be interesting to combine the precision and perfection of their pearls with the organic nature of my works,” says Ong. Think brooches, necklaces, earrings, and charms that straddle the reverent purity of the national gem and the riotous whimsy of her designs. Notwithstanding the differences in aesthetic, the designer states the obvious similarity between the two brands: “We both knew we wanted to create something that will last for generations.”

Apart from the collaboration, Ong is poised to dip her toes in the precarious realm of fashion

design. From creating dainty bird minaudieres, she makes the leap to designing gowns for a fashion show. “I’ve had to study draping,” she frets, albeit calmly. “I’d been telling my friend that I am employing [this principle I’ve heard was called] layogenics, but just this morning, I realized that ‘layo’ simply meant ‘far’—that the clothes are made to be seen [from a distance],” she says, with as much mirth and wonder as a student learning and blundering through a new craft.

To the question of whether the thought of stepping into unknown territory after 15 years of comfortably commanding the business of jewelry design scares her, she answers, “No, not really,” in that same calm, matter-of-fact tone. “I like working with concepts. As I learn more, the concept becomes clearer and clearer, and I fear it less.”

It must be the simplest binding philosophy that all her workers (who started with virtually no knowledge in jewelry design), her students, and this writer have, by now, realized: nothing should be feared so long as it can be learned.

“No one can tell me, ‘Hindi puwede ‘yan, Ma’am,’ because I find ways to do it,” Ong says. Relaying how she was able to learn everything, from cutting stones to melting wax and welding metals, this blow torch- and saw blade-wielding teacher proves that she is, as she puts it, “not your ordinary grandmother.”

Her two upcoming collections display her longstanding penchant for fantasy and mythology, both the stones and the fabrics carrying either Burmese references or figures from the Visayan pantheon of the gods, such as the virginal Alunsina lording over the Eastern skies. “Now that everything [has to] make a connection, you have to design with a global sensibility,” she says of constantly finding ways for local mythology’s worn-out tropes to charm and resonate with the world at large.

“If I weren’t a jewelry designer, I’d probably be a writer,” Ong reveals. “Not for fame, but simply to be able to tell a story.” Is this also what she tries to do with her jewelry? “[When I’m gone],” she answers with certain wistfulness, “the Burmese part of the family dies.” If there is one thing she fears, she admits, it has something to do with mortality and loss. And this might be jewelry-making’s most romanticized assertion, even its simplest virtue: having something eternally cast in stone and creating objects that last long enough to tell a tale.

STYLING BEA LEDESMA MAKEUP CLAIRE SEELIN-DIOKNO OF SHU UEMURA HAIR RICKY DIOKNO

“I like working with concepts.

As I learn more, the concept becomes clearer and clearer, and I fear it less.”

Opposite page: Dress, Joseph, SM Aura Premier; accessories, Wynn Wynn Ong, www.wynnwynnong.com.

This page: Top, Uniqlo, Power Plant Mall; skirt, Joseph, SM Aura Premier; accessories, Wynn Wynn Ong, www.wynnwynnong.com.

Dulce Magat-Gibb’s Crispy Roast Pork with gravy, lingonberry jam, apple sauce, Dijon mustard.

DEVOURED

Cater to You

When it comes to entertaining for the holidays, sometimes it’s better to leave it to the chefs who know their business W O R D S A N G E LO C O M S T I

These days, people use their hard-earned money to pay for convenience. The rise in popularity of Airbnb for homey accommodations and Uber for hassle-free transport are proof.

When it comes to dining, we are definitely spoiled as we have a wide range of restaurants to choose from. But of the lot, none can give as much comfort as staging a restaurant-like set-up at home. Yes, private dining has become in fashion as of late, thanks in large part to

P H O T O G R A P H Y PAT R I C K S E G O V I A

horrible traffic and these three hostesses who are responsible for making eating in just as good— most times, even better—than dining out.

Seafood Savories Dedet dela Fuente of Pepita’s Kitchen is a household name when it comes to succulent roast pig stuffed with an array of fillings, from marbled potatoes to truffle rice. Her lechon has already become a staple in annual holiday parties

and reunions, and her new line of food fare called “Kusina ni Pepito” is fast becoming a mainstay, thanks to a well-received weeks-long buffet feast at Manila Hotel where she showcased her seafood specialties. Apart from the muchloved hiplog (prawns with salted egg sauce), she has the gulong-gulong (crab with rich coconut milk-based sauce), so named because it would have you rolling on the floor out of satisfaction.

Also in her artillery are two more crab dishes:

one with gata and taba ng talangka, and another generously dredged with chili and crispy garlic, called Crab Traffic Shelter.

Pepita’s Kitchen and Kusina ni Pepito: 425-4605, 0917-8660662.

Exotic Eats It didn’t take long for Dulce Magat-Gibb to be on people’s speed dial. She started by making party dishes like Sushi Trifle, Salt-crusted Salmon with Shallot-Verjus Cream, and Crispy Roast Pork Belly with the works (gravy, lingonberry jam, apple sauce, and Dijon mustard), and soon after, plenty of get-togethers began to rely on her brand À Table Gourmet. This year, she expands her line by offering a Middle Eastern feast composed of mezzes like Betinjan mutabal, muhamara,

marinated labne cheese logs, beet with labne and dill, chicken gizzard with pomegranate molasses, and phyllo cheese pie. Her heavier fare includes b’stilla, kofta, couscous, fatoush, and Iranian jewelled rice. To cap off the meal, there are desserts such as baklava, Arabic coffee ice cream, and Arab Pancake stuffed with Walnuts. À Table Gourmet: 0917-8621800.

Lechon Love Happy Ongpauco-Tiu has been running a handful of successful food establishments for many years now. Among them are Pamana, which offers generations-old Filipino heirloom recipes; I Luv Backyard BBQ, which has BBQ specialties like steaks and sausages; and the Tsokolateria Artisanal Café, which is famous for everything cacao, including bibingka and waffles. Her latest endeavor is her bespoke dining services, where she gets to showcase not only her flair in preparing various cuisines like Indian and Thai, but also her floral arrangements. For the coming holidays, she has an ace up her sleeve, in the form of cochinillo—and not just any kind. Her version is Filipino-style, with the young pig wrapped in lemongrass, baked in a pugon, and then served with five kinds of sauces: laing, binagoongan, aligue aglio olio, kaldereta, and lechon.

Private Dining by Happy Concept Group: 0922-8592707, 0915-4505628.

Left to right: Dulce Magat-Gibb; Happy Ongpauco-Tiu; table setup by Ongpauco-Tiu.

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