Red september

The Brave World

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of Chito Vijandre

EDITOR'S NOTE

If there is a trend that I hope will stay, it would have to be athleisure. No, I’m not talking about track suits but the lines found in sportswear, applied on better fabric. It could be silk for a semi-formal skirt or hemp jogging pants that could easily go well with heels. I like them not only because they’re comfortable, but also for the silhouettes they create as the fabric hugs the body.

Speaking of trends, staying fit will always be on trend. Our cover girl Mika Lagdameo just gave birth five months ago and has regained her figure with Marie France’s Thermo Magnetic Pulse, something that I’m seriously considering after seeing her post-maternity body.

With Mika, we reveal the collection of Chito Vijandre for this year’s Red Cross Ball. It’s one of the events that I, along with my designer friends, look forward to every year. This time, the ball will showcase Chito’s modern and unorthodox Filipiniana creations. He is a true genius when it comes to mixing, layering, and accessorizing fabrics. I already know it will be spectacular.

@riarecommends: How cute are these @fringy.ph leather shoe accessories? Brown over green or green over brown? #sotd #shoes #fashion

Enjoy the issue! @riarecommends

CONTENTS

ADMIRED 12

ART 4

On the cover:

The emerging faces of French design

On Mika: Ethnic by Chito Vijandre, ac632@pldtdsl.net.

THINKPIECE 14

Photography Patrick Diokno

The higher players of the drug war

Styling Ria Prieto

Makeup Cats del Rosario Hair Jan Edrosolan

DEVOURED 24 The ideal pairing of local fare and Italian vino

This page: Diamond ring, Miladay.

Group Publisher Bea Ledesma Editor in Chief Ria Prieto Creative Director Nimu Muallam Copy Editor September Grace Mahino Associate Editor Pristine de Leon Editorial Assistant Oliver Emocling Staff Photographer Patrick Segovia External Relations Officer Liza Jison

FOLLOW US ON

Contributing Writers Chryssa Celestino, Denise Fernandez, Bambina Olivares-Wise Contributing Photographers Patrick Diokno, RG Medestomas, Joseph Pascual, Jerick Sanchez

Board Chairperson Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez SVP and Group Sales Head, Inquirer Group of Companies Pepito Olarte Sales Director Ma. Katrina Mae Garcia-Dalusong Business and Distribution Manager Rina Lareza Sales Inquiries Email: sales@hip.ph Telephone No: +63 (2) 403 8825 local 239

Inquirer RED Magazine-OFFICIAL

@inquirerRED

@inquirerred

Want to see the other issues of Inquirer RED Magazine? Check out inquirer.net/red

ART

Next in Line Meet the new breed of French designers from Maison et Objet Paris WORDS OLIVER EMOCLING

4

p DESORMEAUX/CARETTE When Nathanaël Desormeaux and Damien Carette met in 2006, they soon after decided that they complement each other’s design philosophy and skill. Desormeaux is a maverick of British design innovation while Carette explores the more decorative features of design. Together, they find new means of using materials. Take, for example, the Desormeaux/Carette Dita lamp above, which references fashion with how it employs a zipper to change the light’s direction and intensity.

p CHARLOTTE JUILLARD In this year’s Maison et Objet Paris, Charlotte Juillard presents her collection Lavastone, where she injects a hint of femininity and sensuality to the seemingly cold and rigid material she sourced from Naples, Italy. Juillard is no stranger to Italian design; she joined La Fabrica under Sam Baron and has designed for Seletti and Molteni.

t AC/AL STUDIO AC/AL Studio was established in 2013 by ENSCI-Les Ateliers graduates Amandine Chhor and Aïssa Logerot, who both trained under designer Mathieu Lehanneur. AC/ AL studio tells a narrative through the harmony of clean, minimalist, geometric design and state-of-the-art function.

With its signature style, AC/ AL received accolades from a VIA Label in 2015 for their Trame Chair.

G/F 8 RO C K WELL , H I DA LGO D R . RO C K WELL C ENTER , M A K ATI

t STUDIO MONSIEUR Manon Leblanc and Romain Diroux founded Studio Monsieur in 2012. With its expertise in industrial design, Studio Monsieur believes in elevating everyday items to notable objets d’art like the glass Silex Christmas ball, which embraced the glass’ sharpness, leading the duo to win the Grand Prize for Creativity from the city of Paris in 2015.

p PIERRE CHARRIÉ Pierre Charrié is known for skirting convention. He seeks the possibilities of design and technology by creating fixtures that appeal to the senses. For one, his fragrance diffuser features a marble base and a bamboo stem fashioned with an ostrich feather that would release scent as the wind blows. He was recently awarded the Grand Prize for Creativity from the city of Paris and bagged the silver design award from Future en Seine in 2014 for his Aérobie lamp.

p JULIEN VERMEULEN Featherwork or plumasserie adds intricacy to any object. It is also what Julien Vermeulen is known for. He studied the craft at Lycée Octave Feuillet, the last French public school to offer a diploma in featherwork, and to him, the colorful feathers emulate paint with how they interact with light. Vermeulen demonstrates the flexibility of feather as a material with his samurai armor called Bado Senshi.

ACQUIRED

Strands of Time A prized memento and a piece of myth, the pearl is every bit as iconic as the women who have worn them WORDS PRISTINE DE LEON P H O T O G R A P H Y PAT R I C K S E G O V I A

Pearls, the oldest jewelry in the iconography of glamor, were worn even before craftsmen discovered how to cut stone. Ancient Greeks believed that Aphrodite, emerging triumphantly unclothed from the crest of a foamy sea, issued tears of mirth in the form of pearls. The little white orbs similarly figured in the world’s most infamous romances: an engraving of Cupid and Psyche’s marriage shows a string of pearls binding the lovers.

Then, there was Cleopatra confronting Marc Antony, parading pomp and power by dissolving her pearl earring in a vessel of wine vinegar. Eras later, pearls evoked Coco Chanel orchestrating the rise of a fashion empire. Both virginal and provocative, pearls rose in the pantheon of precious stones with their string of myths.

In local territory, these luminescent orbs are made more alluring with their golden gleam. Baby Araneta Forés, darling of Manila’s and New York’s social circles, was once painted by Chilean hyperrealist artist Claudio Bravo wearing a golden pearl on her left ear.

The South Sea pearl, largely coveted for its rarity, gained prominence here with French-Filipino company Jewelmer Joaillerie cultivating them in Palawan’s waters, once part of the ancient trade route called the Pearl Road.

Since 1979, the brand has pioneered the painstaking cultivation of the South Sea pearl, now regarded as the country’s national gem—or the “Queen of Gems,” as it’s known the world over. From the gold-lipped Pinctada maxima pearl oysters, the regal orbs found their way to the hands of Manila’s most prominent social figures, either strung together in a single strand or taking on Jewelmer Joaillerie’s many other whimsical arrangements.

It takes up to 10 years to create a perfectly matched pearl strand. Once finished, it becomes a woman’s most versatile piece of jewelry, outliving every passing fad and fancy and evoking over a hundred years of fashion icons and femme fatales that employed lustrous beads to convey authority and elegance.

ATTIRED

Opposite Poles Straddling the line between sports and style P H O T O G R A P H Y J O S E P H PA S C U A L S T Y L I N G R I A P R I E T O

Vest, Bea Valdes, www.beavaldes.com; top and pants, both Joseph, SM Aura Premier; shoes, Common Projects, Univers, One Rockwell.

Vest, Bea Valdes, www.beavaldes.com; top, Philip Lim, LCP; pants, Koral, LCP.

Sports bra, Koral, LCP; jacket, Calvin Klein, SM Aura Premier; sunglasses, Linda Farrow, City of Dreams.

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

Vest and skirt, both Joey Samson, 09189592541; sports bra, Koral, LCP; shoes, Off White, Univers, One Rockwell.

B o d e g a x R e e b ok N P C U K i n Rich Blu

e Su

ede

SHIFTING SHADES

ON THE RADAR

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Diadora’s

“From S eo

ul to Rio”

STRANGER THINGS

The designs of Julius founder Tatsuo Horikawa is founded on black for its “deep spiritual meaning” in Japanese religion. For the 2016 F/W collection of Julius, Horikawa creates his first line of high-top sneakers. A collision of mesh, suede, and leather, the sneakers give off a sporty futuristic vibe.

A stylish ode to the athletic life, from retro sneaks to shoes fit only for the Olympic gods

dF utu

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BACK TO BLACK

Ad i d a s 3 D P r inte

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Yet another exclusive item to commemorate the recently concluded Olympics, these ’80s-inspired “From Seoul to Rio” sneakers are the brainchild of Ronnie Fieg and Diadora. Specially handcrafted in Italy, the colorful kicks will only have 500 pairs in retail.

Royal Sport

The white tennis shoe is about to get a run for its money, with Bodega teaming up with Reebok for the former’s 10th anniversary. Made with luxurious, deep blue suede, the new and improved NPC UK shoe also features violet accents and a gum rubber sole.

WORDS DENISE FERNANDEZ

GOD’S SPEED

Adidas has released the closest thing to the magic sandals of Hermes, messenger of the gods. Engineered with a complex 3D structure, the shoes are currently available only to Olympic medalists, the laces patterned in accordance with the color of their respective medals.

NATURAL SOLE

Visvim elevates the sneaker game by revisiting natural materials in their 2016 F/W collection. Visvim utilizes raffia woven on Vibram soles. Each pair is entirely handwoven and naturally dyed in light beige, dark brown, and deep navy.

BARED

ODE TO ICONS

A tribute to the scents, the shades, and the names that have added wonder to the realm of beauty W ORDS CH RYS S A CE L E S T IN O P H OT OGRAP H Y PAT RICK S E GOV IA

In the field of beauty, the industry’s best names did not crack the business to peddle simple promises.

L’Occitane, Laura Mercier, La Prairie, Diptyque, Murad, and Chanel may differ in how they choose to define the beautiful life, but all share a sense of foresight and years of ceaseless innovation.

Rustan’s, the retail powerhouse responsible for introducing some of the industry’s most iconic names to a local audience, is holding its Beauty Addict Event on Sept. 15, where patrons can revel in their collective love for storied brands. To give a preview, we’ve rounded up the products that have made the leap from breakthrough inventions to household favorites.

Take Laura Mercier, and how it has fashioned the Silk Crème Moisturizing Photo Edition Foundation that takes care of any visible blemishes.

The lauded make-up artist understands that a longwearing formula with rich pigment is the secret behind flawless concealment. Of course, the real technique behind great skin starts with meticulous care that only the likes of fruit and vegetable-rich Murad Invisiblur Perfecting Shield SPF 30 and La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream can give. Combining glowing skin with saturated hues on the lip—ones that Chanel has mastered with their Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Color—provides an alluring contrast to the bare facial canvass.

While cosmetics enhance looks, scents improve the experience. L’Occitane’s Aromachologie Relaxing Hand and Foot Balm gives more than just soothing relief; its blend of lavender, bergamot, mandarin orange, sweet orange, and geranium oils also exudes

fragrance that calms and captivates. The fragrance of Diptyque's L'Ombre dans l'Eau evokes the feeling of walking in an English garden with Bulgarian rose petals and blackcurrant bushes. The bottle of perfume has been loved by both those who recall their travels and those who've yet to reach the shores of England.

For those of us who live oceans away, Rustan’s has helped these storied global brands penetrate the Filipinos’ beauty psyche. Today, there are more who add their own stories to the long heritage of these brands. On Sept. 15, the Beauty Addict Event celebrates all these, and customers can get exclusive access to invitations by way of their Beauty Addict Card—another chance to partake in the brands’ legacies that have spanned continents, years, and ethnicities.

From left to right: Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Color in Pirate, Chanel; Silk Creme Moisturizing Photo Edition Foundation, Laura Mercier; L’Ombre Dans L’eau, Diptyque; Skin Caviar Luxe Cream, La Prairie; Invisiblur Perfecting Shield, Murad; Aromachologie Relaxing Hand and Foot Balm, L’Occitane, all available at Rustan,s.

RUSTAN'S BEAUTY ADDICT

Customers can get exclusive access to event invitations and special offers through the Beauty Addict card. Any customer of legal age and with a minimum purchase of P2,500 can apply through a digital application in-store to become a Beauty Addict member. Applying can score a patron an exclusive invite to the Beauty Addict Event, set to become the biggest beauty event of the year. Please like @rustansthebeautysource on Instagram and follow them on Facebook for more information.

BUSINESS

High and Mighty

Is the drug bust really affecting the power set?

WORDS BAM BIN A OL IVARE S WIS E ART N IM U M UAL L AM

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I was sitting at a dive bar in New York one night beside my date, and a copy of The Post was in front of us. A well-known, wealthy financier, married to a reedthin, glamorous, toast-of-high-society sort of woman, had just been ordered to perform X number of hours of community service after admitting to a hit-andrun offense in which he left an injured man lying on the street.

He had to plead guilty, my date, who knew the wife, told me. He was high on coke, and if the case went to trial, that would all have been revealed. So he did what any smart businessman would do: he settled.

I’d like to think that drugs are the great equalizer, in the sense that no matter what you take and no matter how much you pay for a gram, an ounce, or a bag, the drug abuser ends up looking pretty damn awful after a while. Wealthy or indigent, your skin looks terrible, you’re either bloated or emaciated, your eyes unnaturally dilated or catatonically glazed.

But even in the world of drugs, it seems, there are class distinctions, hence the rise not just of designer drugs to cater to the welloff, but of cheap but quick highs to cater to the less fortunate—rugby and the apparently ubiquitous shabu.

As the ongoing spate of extra-judicial killings tragically demonstrates, even the poor need their fix; unfortunately, it is much easier to shoot the stoned and defenseless than the intoxicated and lawyered-up.

There is a tendency to glamorize upmarket drugs and vilify the more pedestrian ones. Mention cocaine and a sophisticated backdrop appears:

glittering parties, endless champagne, beautiful women, dapper men, a yacht, a private plane, a sleek automobile, a private collection of exquisite art. Even Pablo Escobar—who apparently didn’t touch the very powder he pushed up into nostrils everywhere—traded up as soon as he could with the obscene profits from the cocaine trade, with his wife very quickly developing a taste for extravagance and luxury.

Now, mention shabu and the images that come to mind are distinctly downmarket, grimy, grubby, grasping. The subliminal message? This is the drug you take when you can’t afford to get high in style.

All you have to do is tune into the nightly news to confirm this. Among the gunned down are lowly tricycle drivers and construction workers and the unemployed, whose uniform is the kamiseta or worn T-shirt pocked with holes, faded, threadbare shorts, and rubber slippers.

They are just one among the masses. One among the teeming, incessantly reproducing, yet chained to poverty masses. No yacht parties here with endless champagne. No tuxedos, either, or silver platters to serve the drugs in. Of course, this conjecture is highly inflammatory and—roll of the eyes, please—elitist. But it’s no less true. Even when it comes to drugs, our country is still rife with class distinctions. The thing is, a high is a high is a high.

And it’s fleeting.

But is it really worth it? Not at the risk of losing your looks. Because I’m shallow that way.

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ADMIRED

Warm Blood At the Red Charity Gala, Chito Vijandre unravels Filipiniana’s rebellious streak WORDS PRISTINE DE LEON P H O T O G R A P H Y PAT R I C K D I O K N O

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most, like during calamities,” says Vijandre.

“It has its roots as far back as the Philippine revolution, when Mabini encouraged the establishment of the Red Cross during the Malolos Republic—which makes it relevant to my theme for the collection.”

The term “Filipiniana” has, for centuries, connoted either the flowery flamboyance of the balintawak or the stifling piousness of the classic terno. It evoked portraits of grandmothers, churches, solihiya windows, and Maria Claras bent over terraces, listening, somewhat flirtatiously, to serenades. “I wanted Philippine history and culture to set the tone but not in a literal, predictable way,” says Vijandre, and true enough, in this particular reimagining of the national ensemble, his references range from Filipino movies preceding World War II to Nick Joaquin’s fictional characters, and carnival queens.

“They were flamboyant but elegant; it was a whole different era of gentility,” says Vijandre.

The designer’s collection fuses fragments of Gabriela Silang’s rebellious force, the understated glamor of actress Carmen Rosales, and the cloistered world of spinsters Candida and Paula, spun in Joaquin’s “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.” It’s nobility and rebellion in a seamless dance.

Even the embellishments look culled from ethnic weaponry. Among the details were “velvet with metal embroidery, T’boli patterns [made] kinetic with layers of covered buttons, rich velvets and delicate lace, [as well as] silk saris, silk chiffon, woodblock print batiks, and silk ikat from Uzbekistan, sometimes all together in one ensemble.” It’s genteel and gentle, yet also a touch anarchic; the familiar Filipina grace with jagged edges.

“It’s quite exhilarating to be back in fashion,” says Vijandre. After decades of helming lifestyle stores Firma and AC+632 with his

“I rebel and revel in maximalism.” detail was taken for granted. It’s something I have not seen in Manila for a long time.”

In what you could call a sort of foreshadowing during last year’s ball, an interviewer was asking Tinga whom she’d want the annual gala’s next designer to be, the exact moment when Vijandre was passing by. “I called him over and told the interviewer, ‘Chito is our dream designer.’ He laughed and said, ‘Sure, why not?’” A year later, Manila’s media was again humming with the news that Vijandre, following years of absence in the fashion circuit, is now to stage a second comeback.

“The Red Cross is an institution that has always been there when people need help

partner Ricky Toledo, the designer’s aesthetic— on top of its obvious maximalist bent—has been widely famous for its whimsicality and eclecticism. A trip to AC+632, for instance, feels like stumbling upon the remnants of a secret carnival, the objects, culled from eras past, still alive and humming.

“Firma and AC+632 have always thrived on surprising combinations of objects, eras, and influences,” explains Vijandre. “My collection for the gala reflects this aesthetic. Tibetan brocade jackets have Victorian lace-ruffled blouses paired with a skirt of pleated Indian sari and velvet ikat. Rebolusyonaryas wear velvet sheaths with silk chiffon linings and gold armor shoulders of metal beading.” To those tracking the references, it can be downright confusing, but the layering of thoughts and techniques is arguably Vijandre’s most memorable draw.

His works lend every woman a piece of history made tactile. Wearing his gowns for the RED shoot, entrepreneur Mika Lagdameo, whose body has been buffed by Marie France, puts it simply: “They are so rich in color, texture, and detail, that every piece is just as beautiful afar as it is up close.” Years ago, after Vijandre had created a bridal suite of fully beaded gowns, using the tiniest glass beads on tulle to create Arabesque patterns, Jane Umali, one of his models, wore one to a party in Malacañang. A visiting actor fell in love with the gown—“and probably with her”—as the two danced throughout the night. Whether the dresses are painstakingly layered or just endearingly weird, even strong devotees of the now-dated normcore trend can still be seduced by his clothes’ imaginative sway.

“That’s how it’s always been; it’s in my DNA. I’ve always been drawn to the intricate and the detailed. As a child, in art class, while everyone was doing pastels and painting in washed aquarelle, I’d do bright fauvist colors and apply paint directly to the paper from the tubes,” he says. “My style never changed. I never followed trends, and I still don’t follow them.” This isn’t so much a story of one designer’s runway comeback as it is of a lifelong romance with design’s rebellious lure, simply morphing into infinite forms across the decades.

MAKEUP CATS DEL ROSARIO HAIR JAN EDROSOLAN MODEL MIK A LAGDAMEO

“I rebel and revel in maximalism.”

Chito Vijandre’s decades-long work as a designer always reverently follows this simple anthem. From his stint in art and fashion to his mastery of interior design, Vijandre always manages to dodge much of modernity’s minimalist kink.

This year’s Red Charity Gala, in particular, will see his return on the runway. On the agenda is a parade of various feathers, kimono tops turned into cages, and some chain mail linked with lace. This is hardly the image one conjures of a show themed “Filipiniana,” yet Vijandre is always one to favor a shocking bent over cold convention. “[Some] years ago, Slim’s Fashion and Art School had a show featuring several of their most celebrated graduates, and Chito was one of them,” says Kaye Tinga, co-chair of the Red Charity Gala. “His segment blew me away: the intricacy, the originality, the thought that went into his work was just unbelievable. Not a single

EXPLORED

A Shot in the Sky A roundup of bars hosting happy hour on top of the world WORDS P RIS T IN E DE L E ON

FLAIR RESTAURANT AND BAR, SHANGHAI

At the 58th level of The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Flair shares The Ritz’s illustrious reputation and stands as the highest al fresco wining and dining point in all of China. The Great Wall may boast sweeping landscapes, yet atop Flair, another sleepless country altogether can be seen: The Bund’s multiple architectural styles, the iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower, and both banks of the Huangpu River. Flair’s drinking spread includes signature cocktails and wines alongside 40 types of vodka and fashionable, smalldistillery rums. For traveling romantics, there’s also their infamous “Propose Corner” that has reportedly witnessed more than 70 proposals in the last six years—possibly the work of the wine or the romance-inducing view of the Shanghai skyline.

SKY GARDEN, LONDON

Atop London’s “Walkie Talkie” skyscraper, the Sky Garden presents an ambitious conflation of differing concepts: expansive interiors housing greenery and tropical trees, coupled with rigid glass-steel framework outlining London. The Sky Garden is as much a display of London’s landmarks as it is a parade of architectural design. With a shot of their signature vodkas, gins, and rums, guests can trade in the city’s usual drinking holes for the Sky Garden’s enormous glass dome.

POD 39 ROOFTOP BAR, NEW YORK

Think soaring terracotta columns, arches framing the midtown skyline, and stringed lights festooned all over. The Pod 39 Rooftop Bar provides a touch of romantic kitsch to the Big Apple’s concrete machinery. Perched 17 floors high, this two-story open space presents panoramic views of New York’s Freedom Tower, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building—backdrops to revelers sipping Mexican-inspired fare and specialty tequila.

L’OISEAU BLANC RESTAURANT AND BAR, PARIS

Perched atop the towering grandeur of Paris’ Peninsula Hotel, L’Oiseau Blanc is the stuff of romantic revelries. It’s a more relaxed counterpart to the world’s raucous rooftop restaurants, as this aviation-themed bar lets guests enjoy their wines and champagnes with a 360-degree view of the French capital. L’Oiseau Blanc is an elegant ode to Charles Nungesser and François Coli who attempted to cross the Atlantic in 1927 from Le Bourget. There’s even a biplane hovering above the courtyard, seemingly en route to the Eiffel Tower.

OZONE, WEST KOWLOON

Of the many glittering bars crowning the Ritz-Carlton hotels, Ozone is possibly the closest we can get to drinking and dining among the stars. The bar is perched on the impressive 118th floor of Hong Kong’s The Ritz, officially recognized as the highest bar in the world. At this particular hypnotic summit, approaching the main bar area feels like watching the future through a neon haze. Stretching across the bar are geometric lines combined with marble and honeycomb patterns, and framed glass windows and terraces present Hong Kong’s impressive views: Victoria Bay and Hong Kong Island, the multi-colored lights of Kowloon, and high-rises that give way to views of distant mountains.

Cap these off with Asian tapas and innovative cocktails.

With Gazes Steady Situated beside a club in La Fuerza delivering electronic music by resident and international guest DJs, 20:20 is the newest restaurant and bar concept gaining traction among Makati’s weary nightcrawlers.

Its name a simple nod to the restaurant’s street number and also vaguely connoting perfect vision (before the spirits hit), 20:20 is fast becoming Makati’s hub for rousing cocktails, music, and revelry after dark.

DEVOURED

Geography Lessons A table setting becomes a cultural exchange program, with Filipino culinary favorites paired with Italian wines WORDS OL IV E R E M OCL IN G

It isn’t common to find wine from the vineyards of Italy to be on the same table as, say, adobo. “Filipino food or Asian food, in general, is not the [kind of cuisine] that, so far, has been paired with wines,” says sommelier Adriano Stefanutti of iTrulli. “But there is nothing that cannot be paired with wines because wine is such an eclectic drink.”

In pairing wine with food, Italians swear by the principle of balance. “You don’t look for the contrast; you look for the union and harmony,” Stefanutti says, adding that Italians use a strong word like “marriage” to describe the orchestration of flavors inside the

P H OT OGRAP H Y RG M E DE S T OM AS

mouth. To pleasure the palate with the perfect notes, each ingredient from every dish should be taken into consideration before pairing it with wine.

There are no hard rules in drinking wine: whites can go with red meat and reds can also go well with fish. The only rule, it seems, is to follow a certain sequence throughout the night: from whites to reds and from wines with lower alcohol content to stronger ones. After trying a few dishes with their wine counterparts, it’s not an overstatement to conclude that the Italians do know how to dine, no matter what’s on the table.

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Salmon Sinigang with Egot Trebbiano Chardonnay Made with two kinds of grapes, the light, fruity flavor of the Egot Trebbiano Chardonnay 2014 from the EmiliaRomagna region balances the soup’s tartness.

Trebbianno is one of the most frequently grown grapes in Italy.

Fried Bangus with Eugenio Collavini T-Friulano From the Friuli region, this white wine’s acidity offsets the greasiness of Bangus without overpowering the palate.

Laing with Colesel Fei Prosecco Trust sparkling wine to tone down the laing’s overpowering flavors. For Stefanutti, laing is one of the most difficult dishes to pair with wine because of the intricacy of its ingredients. Albeit extra dry, the Prosecco leaves a sweet note in the mouth.

PH O T OG R A PH Y PAT R I C K S EG OV I A

Kaldereta with Il Mastino Romagna Made with Sangiovese grapes that are grown in many parts of Italy, this wine from Romagna is best suited with the rich kaldereta.

It also proves that the area where a grape is grown defines its flavor.

Kare-kare with Arnaldo Caprai Collepiano “Bagoong is a palate killer,” remarks Stefanutti. With karekare’s “strident and contrasting ingredients,” he pairs the dish with this rather strong wine from the Umbria region, which cleans away the mighty flavor of bagoong from the palate.

Crispy Pata with Prumotto Dolceto D’Alba This light-bodied red wine from Costo Torino cleans the grease left by the fried pork. This wine is made with Nebbiolo grapes, named after nebbia, which means “fog” in Italian. Sweet at first, the flavor grows more intensely with each sip.

Grind’s Homemade Corned Beef on Rye Sandwich

Pork Adobo with Lionello Marchesi Rosso The Lionello Marchesi Rosso Di Montalcino from Tuscany gives off the same peppery smell and flavor that are also present in adobo.

Leche Flan with Valturio Abstemio The Moscato wine from the Marche region balances the sweetness of the dessert. Its smell and taste have notes of fruit and honey.

Hometown Glory AN AMERICAN BISTRO GROUNDED IN HERITAGE “We wanted to do it the right way and do it ourselves,” says Steven Carl, owner and head chef of Grind Bistro. Grind is all about family traditions and the luxury of cooking from scratch, as Carl grew up with a family that loved to cook with ingredients freshly picked from their farm. Bringing this tradition to Grind, he recreates dishes from family dinner parties, such as the Corned Beef in Rye Sandwich, with the corned beef homemade and the bread baked using Carl’s aunt’s recipe, and burgers slathered with a secret sauce he named after his wife Cristina. Grind tells a narrative of traditions and influences that helped define American food.

EMPOWERED

Tattler’s Tale

Anton San Diego tackles life behind the pages

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IN T E RV IEW B A MB I N A O L I VA R ES W I S E P H OT O G R A PH Y J ER I C K S A N C H EZ

It was September of 2001 when Philippine Tatler, with presidential daughters Imee Marcos, Jackie Ejercito-Lopez, Luli Arroyo, and Jo Ramos on the cover, landed local newsstands. It has also been 15 years since Anton San Diego, its editor-in-chief, first dived into the narratives of high society.

Thriving in the crazy world of publishing for 15 years and going, San Diego shares what helps him keep sane in everyday life.

Anyone you have been trying to get on the cover who is still playing hard to get?

There are many, but as an amazing designer told a friend of mine, “Girl, you are 50; they won’t ask you [to be] on the cover anymore after this!”

Are you an Anna Wintour or a Graydon Carter?

They are both my heroes in publishing and their magazines are my pegs [when it comes to] writing and visuals. Please ask me again in about 20 years or so.

Cocktails, wines, or spirits?

Cocktail: Vodka tonic. Wine: I prefer white, because red makes me sleepy. Champagne: Ruinart or Veuve Clicquot.

Has anyone begged, pleaded, cajoled, or tried to seduce you just to land a cover?

Well, Filipinos are not as forward as people in other countries, but a lot have hinted. Names?

As my good friend Maurice Arcache always says, “My lips are sealed.”

Favorite bar in your favorite city?

Baccarat in New York, Boca Chica, Boca Grande in Barcelona, and 5 Hertford Street in London.

Why do you hate flip-flops?

Toes just beg to be looked at, and if they aren’t pretty, that just ruins my day. I wear flip-flops only to the beach.

Which scent are you obsessing over at the moment?

I love scents but I change them all the time, because after a while, you get immune to their smell. In the morning, I use Hermès Eau D’ Orange Vert or Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino. At night, Le Labo Santal 33.

Which trip left you with the biggest high?

Emotionally, of course!

My safari trip to Botswana was probably the most enriching and spiritually enhancing. My trip to Florence with my best friends was definitely the most fun.

Why do you love accessorizing with lapel pins (or boutonnieres)? How many do you have?

When it comes to dressing, I am quite conservative, so I consider these boutonnieres great and fun add-ons to my wardrobe. I have about 30 of them.