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INSIDE THE PRIVATE PARADISE OF

Natalia Zobel WHEN SLIM AARONS PHOTOGRAPHED CHONA KASTEN & MANILA SOCIETY / TIM YAP AND THE HOUSE EVENTOLOGY BUILT / WHO’S BEHIND MANNY PACQUIAO’S HAIR & OTHER BARBER’S TALES / BONG DAZA’S PARISIAN LIFE / THE LAST ORIGINALS: OUR INDISPUTABLE LIST OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST STYLISH MEN

Elegance is an attitude Simon Baker

The Longines Master Collection

CONTENTS ISSUE 102

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86 UNKNOWN PLEASURES Though the spotlight has always been trying to track her movements, Natalia Zobel has, for the most part, steered clear of its glare, until now. Andrea Ang speaks to the emerging maven on her current work, and what it means to be recognized for the right reasons.

COVER STORY 10 S E P T E M B E R 2016

PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARK NICDAO

CONTENTS ISSUE 102

S e p te m b e r 2 0 16

FEATURES

Kowboy Santos wears a bespoke silk organdy barong by Pristine de Guzman of Slim’s and assorted silver & leather bracelets by Wynn Wynn Ong.

72 THE GOOD, THE BADASS, AND THE SPECTACULARLY PUT TOGETHER The world of fashion has always been beholden to the power of passing fads and the compulsion to conform. Thus, true originality is a rarity. To be authentically stylish is to carry oneself in a way that bespeaks one’s identity, brands and price tags aside. We’ve found 11 men who, by their deeply personal dress sense, possess an aesthetic that can be claimed by no one else.

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THE LIFE AND GOOD TIMES OF BONG DAZA The title of bon vivant is one easily assigned to Bong Daza. A natural charmer and gregarious restauranteur who was well-loved no matter what country or circle he found himself in, it seemed that his station in life was explicably linked to his character. Edvee Cruz recalls the days spent in his company, through a friendship that lasted decades.

SLIM AARONS: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND Though society photographer Slim Aarons was recognized as a welltraveled man, it is still surprising to know that, in the 70s, he brought his eye for the opulent to Philippine shores, where he briefly documented the activities of Manila’s beautiful people. Jerome Gomez describes what kind of impression the jet set lensman left.

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THE HOUSE THAT TIM YAP BUILT Tim Yap is always out. But he takes his home seriously. For the eventology pioneer and media personality, building a house is just another way of strengthening connections. Yap gives Rogue an exclusive tour of his apartment-art space, and shares some of the best stories it holds.

COSTUME NACIONAL Some would call it sacrilege to see our national dress worn outside of formal ceremony, with anything besides a decent pair of slacks. We beg to differ and take the barong Tagalog out from the realm of gala balls and into the streets, where the rules of fashion are a little more easily broken.

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY JO ANN BITAGCOL

JACK HUSTON

Greenbelt 4,AZBMB $FOUFS t 3VTUBO’T 4IBOHSJ -B, 4IBOHSJ -B 1MB[B t Tel. +63 2 7576292

CONTENTS ISSUE 102

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SECTIONS 23 AGENDA Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann’s cultural commentary lands her a solo show in the Ayala Museum; Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton debuts the Pig & Palm in Cebu; Pamela Hanson’s forthcoming photography book is a half-intimate, half-voyeuristic look at the female form; Jonathan Safran Foer’s first novel in over a decade showcases the acclaimed author at his creative best.

39 SPACE Italian tycoon Renzo Russo’s denim brand Diesel carries its eye for aesthetics to the world of kitchenware; photographer Ling Quisumbing makes a fine art out of finding storage space; The Drawing Room gallery is specially built to accommodate any artwork, no matter the medium; German furniture brand Dedon’s latest collection is good craftsmanship best appreciated outdoors.

47 THE EYE Alessandro Michele’s collection for Gucci signifies youth with intricate graphics and artful stitching; your accessory game isn’t quite there yet until you embrace men’s jewellery; British content creator Jeremy Langmead of Mr Porter talks Harlan+Holden, travel essentials, and personal style; from barber shops to barber tales, we present a hair care-centric guide to grooming for the modern gentleman.

67 THE SLANT Paolo Enrico Melendez unpacks the distinct and immediately recognizable fashion aesthetic of Overseas Filipino Workers in the Middle East; poet Nerisa del Carmen Guevara tracks her sartorial evolution from bohemian to normcore; Lobregat Balaguer explains how Rodrigo Duterte represents and perpetuates the nation’s culture of toxic masculinity.

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Jeremy Langmead of online retail store Mr Porter, photographed in Bhutan for Harlan+Holden’s Camino challenge.

Editor in Chief PAOLO R. REYES Features Editor JEROME GOMEZ Managing Editor JACS T. SAMPAYAN Design Editor DEVI DE VEYRA Associate Editor PAOLO ENRICO MELENDEZ Editorial Assistant JAM PASCUAL Copy Editor ARIANNA LIM Editor at Large TEODORO LOCSIN, JR.

ART Senior Art Director KARL CASTRO Art Director PATRICK DIOKNO Junior Designer LIEZEL BRAGA

On the Cover Photographed by Mark Nicdao Styled by MJ Benitez Makeup by Robbie Piñera Hair by Rhoy Cervantes Art Direction by Miguel Lugtu Stylist Assisted by Fred Pua Photographer Assisted by James Bautista, Arsan Hofileña, Phil Nicdao, Rob Regala, Chris Soco Floral arrangements by Lanai Manila

Photographer at Large MARK NICDAO Photographer STEVE TIRONA

Natalia Zobel wears an Eve the Label slip dress Contributing Editors BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE, TRICKIE LOPA, TATS MANAHAN, NEAL OSHIMA, JJ YULO, MICHELLE AYUYAO, JAMES GABRILLO, DON JAUCIAN, L.A. CONSING LOPEZ, NICOLA M. SEBASTIAN, MANO LOTHO, TEDDY MONTELIBANO, GUTSY TUASON, MARTIN VALDES, MARITES VITUG Contributing Writers DEAN ALFAR, ANDREA ANG, LOBREGAT BAL AGUER, MIO BORROMEO, EDVEE CRUZ, NERISA DEL CARMEN GUEVARRA, MARIA ANNABELLE MARQUEZ, ANDRE ORANDAIN, PAULINE JUAN, JOSEPH PASCUAL, LENA COBANGBANG, AGNESS ARELL ANO, VICTOR MAGSAYSAY,

ERRATUM In our August 2016 issue, the stylist for our cover story on Yassi Pressman should have been cited as Ria Casco. The person who styled hair should have been cited as Ethan David. We apologize for these oversights.

LEAH PUYAT, KIM JONES, NOEL MANAPAT Contributing Photographers & Artists JO ANN BITAGCOL, MAITINA BORROMEO, PATRICK DIOKNO, WILLIAM ONG, VIN QUILOP Interns PATRICIA CHONG, STEVEN ESTRELL A, NIKI COLET

PUBLISHING Publisher VICKY MONTENEGRO / vicky.montenegro@roguemedia.ph Associate Publisher ANI A. HIL A / ani.hila@roguemedia.ph Publishing Assistant MADS TEOTICO / mads.teotico@roguemedia.ph Senior Advertising Sales Director MINA GARA / mina.gara@roguemedia.ph Account Managers VELU ACABADO, FAYE DELIGENTE Advertising Traffic Officer & Production Coordinator MYRA CABALUNA

Unit 102, Building 2, OPVI Centre, 2295 Jannov Plaza, Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati, 1231 Telephone: (+632) 729-7747 Telefax: (+632) 894-2676 Email: mail@roguemedia.ph Online Presence: Rogue.Ph Facebook.com/rogue.magazine Twitter: @rogueonline Instagram: @rogueonline Tablet version available at: Zinio.com/Rogue Official Internet Service Provider:

Associate Circulation Manager RAINIER S. BARIA Circulation Supervisor MARK ROLAND LEAL Circulation Assistant JERICO ALDANA Dispatch Supervisors ERIC GARCIA, JIMUEL TATAD Controller EDEN G. ARGONZA Credit & Collection Officer DODGIE OCAMPO Finance Analyst JEMMALYN LUCERO HR Supervisor RUSCHEL REYES

For subscriptions, back issues, bulk orders, and other circulation concerns please contact : Rainier S. Baria at (+632) 729-7747 and rainier.baria@roguemedia.ph ROGUE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY, ELEVEN TIMES PER YEAR. THE EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS OF THE MAGAZINE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES IN RELATION TO THE

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ISSUE 102

THE EDITOR’S LETTER S e p te m b e r 2 0 16

t was January 13, 2007. I was at a dinner party with Miguel Mari and Carmela Lopa in our family compound. At one point during the evening, they broached the idea of joining them “in two to three months” at a new independent title they were putting together. “It might be called Rogue,” Carmela disclosed in a kind of conspiratorial whisper.

I remember thinking to myself that it had a slightly odd, insurrectionist ring to it. Initially, I had my doubts. Will the name have enough recall? Would the target audience find the content entertaining? Would it, in the wake of so many flash-in-the-pan titles, ultimately survive this unforgiving business of readership, circulation, and ad revenues?

Sometime in April, I signed on and I haven’t looked back since. Every month since we founded the magazine, we’ve asked ourselves the same question: How should the pages of Rogue reflect the unique pulse of the Filipino zeitgeist—how we live, what we eat, what we listen to, what we watch, who leads and inspires us?

I’ve always considered Rogue to be a cultural barometer—an arbiter of our times, if you will; an ongoing biography of the personalities that color our age; an unfolding picture album of the definitive moments of our past and present, published one month at a time.

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Rogue has always been more just a glossy rag on the grocery shelf for its founders. It provided us, an insatiably curious and like-minded band of thirtysomethings from a shared background, with an extraordinary medium to express our unique, almost global point-of-view of Filipino life when there was none, creating our own unique category in a market that was once reluctant to make room for it.

Like Arabian blood horses fitted with blinkers, our eyes have always been glued to the road ahead, never stealing nervous glances to the left or to the right for fear of a rival stallion. This, I’ve always believed, is true vision: self-inspired, nonreactionary, and never afraid of running the red light or driving against the traffic.

In the span of nine years, six months, and 102 issues of women, mischief, and the stories of our time, we’re proud to have blazed our own divergent path, to the delight of some and the derision of others, provoking equal measures of admiration and resentment.

In a recent interview with CNN, I was asked to describe what the experience of editing Rogue was like. I compared it to hosting a party. Your co-hosts, whose bold-faced names and beautiful faces are plastered on the invite every month, are essential accomplices. They’re responsible for pulling in the crowd at a long, handsome bar

lined with all manner of libations, where a perfect storm of personalities—movie stars and moguls, sportsmen and socialites, the men and women of the moment—gather around to recount their secrets and scandals, their trials and temptations, their agonies and ecstasies, enabling guests to momentarily escape from the monotony of their daily lives, drunk in an orgy of ideas, information, and inspiration, if only for one debaucherous and decadent night, where the stories linger long after the “high” and half-forgotten conversations have faded.

I’ve had the remarkable privilege of throwing over a hundred of these parties since 2007, and nearly a decade later, I find myself hosting my last.

But we, the editors, the capricious curators of this page-turning experience, are always just passing through. The night most certainly belongs to you, our readers: the crowd that keeps coming back for more, the real carriers of the flame. So kill the lights, keep the liquor flowing, and fan the flames until a raging fire burns through the black sky with its scarlet tongue.

Cheers,

Paolo R. Reyes Editor in Chief

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK NICDAO

The Last Party

ISSUE 102

THE GUEST LIST S e p te m b e r 2 0 16

Edvee Cruz has written for various publications, including a weekly column for The Philippine Star.

He was last employed by a Senator of the Republic to handle his digital media over a span of four years, and is currently doing similar work for various outfits. He claims as his good fortune having lived in different countries over a period of more than three decades, which to him has been his most treasured education.

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Jo Ann Bitagcol is a model turned photographer. She started shooting in 2003 has been contributing to numerous publications ever since. For issue, she takes her place behind and before the lens for our fashion editorial on the barong Tagalog.

Michael Salientes is one of the most recognized stylists in the industry, known for his work in advertising, publishing and film (he styled Cherie Gil for the Peque Gallagadirected movie Sonata).

A former fashion editor for the original Details magazine, he has since styled for many notable brands and personalities, like Gary Valenciano to Sarah Geronimo.

Dean Alfar is an award-winning novelist and playwright. He is, to date, the recipient of 10 Palanca Awards, and a two-time winner of the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Awards for his graphic fiction. He has also cofounded and currently handles the creatives of digital agency Logik.

Patrick Galang is currently the Fashion Editor of L’Officiel Manila. Aside from writing, he has also done work as a stylist, photographer, designer, and art director. He has lent his creativity to publications such as Faint Magazine and Paper Cut Magazine.

Vin Quilop is a 21-year-old illustrator.

He has made posters for the short films and Cinemalaya finalists Asan Si Lolo Mê? and Mga Ligaw Na Paruparo and contributed to Young Star, Garage, and Team.

He was shortlisted in Singapore’s Samsung Masterpiece #YoungMasters competition. He currently works as an Art Director for McCann Worldgroup.

AGENDA Se p te m b e r 2 0 16

EDITED BY

JAM PASCUAL

F O O D + E N T E R TA I N M E N T + C U L T U R E + T R AV E L

The Signs From politics to mythology, no realm of meaning is safe from Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann, who untangles the threads that tie the nations of Southeast Asia together WORDS BY JAM PASCUAL

102 ISSUE NO.

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE is commonly understood as a frozen moment—one that does not necessarily exist in a vacuum, but keeps its history contained and unmoving. This sense of narrative stability is disturbed when the image is manipulated. Various elements and signifiers, gathered from places far from each other, can be pieced together in a single snapshot. The

resulting artwork is a sum which recontextualizes the parts that constitute it.

This is what Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann does, and she does it well. Her work in photomedia draws power from imagery in popular culture to comment on issues of history and memory. And it looks like her reach is widening—over 10 years’ worth of work

YeeI-Lann’s work in photomedia draws power from imageryinpopular culture to comment on issues of historyandmemory.

IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING

From top: Fluid World, The Orang Besar Series, photomedia, 2010; Wherein one claims the hearts and minds of the innocent and gives them the knowledge that is to be learnt, Picturing Power Series, photomedia, 2005. Previous page: The Ch'i-Lin of Calauit (Sulu Stories Series, photomedia, 2005), depicts Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos in Calauit Island, Palawan.

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takes center stage in her ongoing exhibition, Yee I-Lann: 2005-2016, the first show of a contemporary Malaysian artist to be held in the Ayala Museum. It is being hosted by Silverlens Galleries.

While I-Lann is primarily influenced by the culture and history of her homeland, her work is wide-reaching in its empathic scope, eloquently telling the stories of the Southeast Asian experience. The Philippines is a subject in her work, as one part of a greater shared consciousness.

Take, for example, her piece Fluid World, which appeared in her 2010 solo exhibit Boogeyman. According to art historian Simon Soon, I-Lann treats oceans not as things which divide but as “conduits of traffic.” In purposely effacing the masses of land that form the pathways of Asian waters, I-Lann uses the distinct power of photographic language to tell the story of Southeast Asia’s history of trade, colonialism, and other forms of interaction.

Consider also The Ch’i-Lin of Calauit, in which I-Lann demonstrates that her interpretation of cultures foreign to her does not come from a place of typical outsider exoticism.

The late President Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda stand on an island so small it nears maximum capacity holding just the two of them. Any space remaining, which could accommodate anybody else, is occupied by a giraffe—ornate beast and blatantly foreign element—leashed like a pet. Our perception of the Marcoses becomes more idiosyncratic as a result, seeing them depicted as so remote from their citizenry, caught between a gray sky and sea.

Through her art, I-Lann accomplishes the delicate task of bridging together divided cultures while respecting their differences. That she manages this in a world so fragmented warrants recognition and praise.

YEE I-LANN: 2005-2016 WILL RUN UNTIL OCTOBER 2 AT AYALA MUSEUM. VISIT SILVERLENSGALLERIES.COM FOR MORE DETAILS.

IMAGES COURTESY OF SILVERLENS

AGENDA ART

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AGENDA FOOD

THE WAY TO HER HEART

Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton’s The Pig & Palm is a culinary love letter to his Cebuana wife WORDS BY DEVI DE VEYRA / PHOTOS BY MAITINA BORROMEO

WITH A FEW Michelin Stars to his name (three to date), a slew of high-stakes, high-profile outlets in the world’s most finicky capitals (16 and counting), and lavish media coverage (too much to keep tabs on), Jason Atherton caught the culinary world’s staunchest observers by surprise when he decided to open The Pig & Palm (thepigandpalm.ph) in Cebu. Though the island province is in the midst of exciting, frenzied growth, industry insiders wondered how a top-rate international celebrity chef would fare in Cebu’s notoriously tight-fisted market.

But The Pig & Palm isn’t just another one of Atherton’s restos with big-city price points.

It is, as oft-quoted, a love letter to his Cebuana wife, Irha.

The guy is seriously smitten. Atherton authored a lovely note lush with the aromas, flavors, and vibrant imagery of his own cuisine.

The gesture also came in a beautiful package built by design world heavyweight Lyndon Neri,

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DARING PAIRINGS From top: Cebu-born designer Lyndon Neri conceptualized The Pig & Palm's church-inspired interiors; the local red mullet with clams are braised in beer-based broth flavored with bacon.

who conceptualized The Pig & Palm’s churchinspired interiors. Its dark palette combined with the textures of its brick-clad walls and the tonal warmth of wood give the space a laidback, cozy and, more important for Atherton, welcoming vibe.

Unlike other romantic missives, Atherton’s was meant to be shared. The best part? You can eat the British chef ’s words.

During The Pig & Palm’s recent media launch, the chef served a sampling of his restaurant’s menu. Atherton started with his signature cocktail, the Dill or No Dill—a refreshingly light concoction of gin, lemon, elderflower cordial, cucumber and dill with hints of smoked salt to round off the flavors. This signaled the start of an epic repast that displayed the chef ’s wizardry.

Just like with Atherton’s other restaurants, the bar isn’t just an afterthought but a well-considered gallery of drinks. Proof of this is a citation during the 2015 Spirited Awards in London

AGENDA FOOD

MORE THAN A FEELING

Clockwise: The acclaimed British chef Jason Atherton personally manned the kitchens during the media launch; the Roasted Suckling Pig is Atherton's nod to Cebu's beloved lechon; milk and honey goat cheese ice cream is one of four desserts served at The Pig & Palm.

Unlikeotherromantic missives,Atherton’s was meanttobeshared. The bestpart?Youcan eat the Britishchef’s words. where Blind Pig, the bar in Atherton’s Social Eating House, was named Best International Restaurant Bar. With its select wines and spirits,the standard sodas and beers alongside a short list of wildly inventive cocktails, The Pig & Palm’s drinks menu embodies Atherton’s “let’s not take ourselves too seriously” dining philosophy.

The Coff Mixture is an antidote to a hard day—a confection of Don Papa Rum, coffee, honey, black tea syrup, and a drop of soy sauce.

The McBanDaq is a badass reimagination of McDonald’s wholesome shakes—a mixture of local white rum, banana, banana liquor, condensed milk, and root beer.

Snacks and small plates of savory dishes arrived in quick succession. The Black Squid Ink Crackers with a dip of potato aioli looked like the glam goth cousin of the humble kropek.

This was followed by the crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside Chicken Karaage with sriracha mayonnaise—a dish that’s right up the Pinoy palate’s penchant for anything breaded 28 S E P T E M B E R 2016

and fried. Atherton held back on the robust flavors of onions and ginger for his version of the native kilawin, which allowed the delicate taste of fresh plump shrimps to shine.

The chef tipped his hat to lechon’s heartland with the Roasted Suckling Pig. Except for some portions of the skin that were a few minutes short of crispy perfection, everything tasted and smelled like pork heaven. Atherton showed a bit of irreverent swagger by adding a lovely soya

onion gravy, which added depth to the dish.

The degustatory marathon was capped by two brilliant desserts: a coconut rice pudding with coconut ice cream and mangoes, together with the Baked 60 Percent Chocolate Moelleux with sea salt and almonds.

Atherton’s love letter to Irha is an earnest one. It is alternately intense, playful, naughty, delightful, sweet, delicate, and brimming with surprises. Most of all, it feels and tastes real.

AGENDA BOOKS

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

Pamela Hanson explores the relationship between spaces and bodies in her forthcoming book, Private Rooms

IN 2001, FASHION photographer Pamela Hanson released her first photography book Girls, a collection of personal and professional work which served to extol the plurality of the female experience. Five years later, she released Boys, a sequel whose creation seemed to say of vulnerability and sensuality, let’s get the men in here too for good measure. In both these books and her work for magazines such as Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair, Hanson displays her ability to depict her subjects at their most arresting.

Hanson’s upcoming book Private Rooms, to be published by Damiani (damianieditore.com), is a collection of nudes and seminudes of eight different women. It shows that the acclaimed photographer has only gotten better. The women in this book, which include the likes of models Camille Row and Kayleigh Whitford, were shot in the interiors of New York’s Lafayette House, a restored brownstone built in 1848 which, while possessing the modern amenities required to accommodate the modern tourist, distinguishes itself from other hotels and pied-à-terre units with its antique decor. It’s not that the rooms take center stage in the book (though the gold-leafed wallpaper makes a strong case for otherwise); it’s that these rooms are the only things that can

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BODY LANGUAGE

From above: Kayleigh Whitford and Camille Row, two of the women who modeled for Private Rooms. Pamela Hanson, the noted fashion photographer of Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair, worked together with stylist Susan Winget for the book.

properly serve as the backdrop for the women inhabiting them.

Born in London and raised in Geneva, Hanson began dabbling in photography when she moved to the United States. It was upon meeting Arthur Elgort—who solidified his place in fashion photography history for his work in Vogue—and working as his assistant that Hanson found not only a mentor but a source of encouragement for her to pursue living by the lens.

In an interview with In the Gloss, Hanson lamented that during her time, female photographers were few. “It was such a boy’s club,” she states. “There’s plenty of women out there that are doing really cool things, but if women are demanding and expecting things, it’s suddenly, you know, they're a bitch.”

Befitting then, that Hanson’s work would make its mark by challenging notions of gender and sexuality, and in the process, explore the many ways in which beauty can reveal itself.

With Private Rooms, Hanson still keeps her unique approach to the female form while deepening it with relation to space. Perhaps the thesis of the project is this: in the same way the room can be a space of intimacy, the body can be the site of desire.

IMAGES COURTESY OF DAMIANI

WORDS BY JAM PASCUAL

AGENDA BOOKS

AN UNDENIABLE PRESENCE

In his first novel in over a decade, Jonathan Safran Foer continues to perfect what he has always done best—using the personal to tell the story of the universal

“YOU ONLY GET to

keep what you refuse to let go of.”This is Jonathan Safran Foer in the opening chapter of his latest work, Here I Am. It’s apt to describe his nearly two decadeslong career as a writer in the same way, having hovered around the same set of themes over three novels. Ever since his first book Everything is Illuminated came out in 2002, Foer has been fixed on the great tragedies of the modern age, yet these events have always taken a backseat for the real stories he’s wanted to tell: in the first case, a young man seeks his ancestral home amidst the ruins of the Holocaust; in his second novel, a boy solves a mystery to fill the void left by the father he lost on 9/11; now, a family deals with the emotional toll of receiving relatives fleeing from the devastation of the Middle East, on the occasion of their oldest son’s bar mitzvah.

It’s this same desire to tell the smaller story that makes Foer’s work so compelling to read. How does one approach 9/11 in a work

of fiction without crashing into its politics?

How can one traverse the emotional triptrip mines scattered throughout any story of the Holocaust? How does one even begin to write about the lives of refugees, and the Americans

whoo find themselves so remote from the fallout?

In I one scene in the novel, Jacob Bloch, the fath her of the bar mitzvah celebrant, prepares to meet his Israeli cousins, led by Tamir. The two cou uld not be any less alike, with Jacob growing und der the cinematic visions of Spielberg and mir living under the shadow of death and Tam con nflict. Yet unknown to all the other family members is that Tamir was responsible for what Jacoob in his middle age continues to acknowledgge as the best night of his life—a secret trip to tthe zoo the midnight before Jacob’s own bar mittzvah, a trip that would conclude with saving mir from dying inside the lion’s den. The Tam intimacy that reverberates through this moment, well as Jacob’s recollection of it in the present as w me, is characteristic of the tenderness that Foer tim masterfully draws upon in all of his work. so m It’s worth noting that Foer takes cues from his own tradition as a Jew, which helps to plain the title. But it is not only Jacob who exp hass to account for his dual role as father and son to his family. Like Abraham before God and Isaac, all the Blochs must make themselves truly present before each other: “Here I am, here I am.”

THE MORTIFICATIONS

Wise Beyond Your Years

by Derek Palacio

In the same way Foer’s first novel was received, these debut works make a case for their authors as promising prodigies

THE REVOLUTIONARIES TRY AGAIN T

WORDS BY JAM PASCUAL

32 S E P T E M B E R 2016

During the 1980s, which saw the mass emigration of Cubans to the United States, the Encarnación family find themselves estranged from a stubborn father and retreating to the cold city oof Hartford, Connecticut. These refugees are then called back to th heir homeland—for better or worse, they cannot ascertain.

by Mauro Javier Cardenas A group of friends bonded by idealism attempt to pursue their respective life paths—expat, bureaucrat, playwright—while navigating the political unrest of Ecuador. This debut novel has been compared to the work of Chilean literary treasure Roberto Bolaño, which is no small praise.

IMAGE OF AUTHOR COURTESY OF GETTY

WORDS BY MIO BORROMEO

AGENDA FOOD

BAYSIDE BANQUET

Conrad Manila’s China Blue adds bold tastes, textures, and whimsy to traditional Chinese cooking WORDS BY ANDRE ORANDAIN / PHOTOS BY PATRICK DIOKNO

YOU CAN'T HELP but think of the ocean when you enter China Blue by Jereme Leung. Inside the restaurant by one of the pioneers of modern Chinese cooking, chandeliers in deep turquoise cascade in synchronized calm over couches shaped like shells resting on the sand. Like much of five-star luxury hotel Conrad Manila, this upscale eatery is an ode to the sea, adorned with refined nautical touches and pops of blue.

Though it tweaks traditional cooking from a variety of

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regions in China, it also doesn't compromise on the distinct flavors of one of the most beloved cuisines in the world.

Their stir fried shiitake in light vinaigrette was bright and punchy. Their mushrooms are marinated, coated then deepfried then served with spring rolls. The mushrooms are bright in your mouth, the nutty flavor still flourishing at the edge, the bite sweet and punchy, the end of it mellow.

A classic that needs no question, the wasabi shrimp is a

AGENDA FOOD

Inspired by the ocean, China Blue brings you back and forth constantly, ebbing and flowing with flavors, textures, and intensity. dish Leung created in the 90s that has been indoctrinated into the vernacular of modern Chinese cookery. The deep fried shrimp covered with a sheet of wasabi mayo is light, the flavor from the root in its faintest, most fragile form.

The heat lathers in your tongue rolling softly and slowly, the mangoes adding a burst of brightness and a resounding balance to the plump shrimp.

The Shanghai style soya braised fish is another one of his early creations reinvented.

Leung prepares his a la minute—deep fried then slightly smoked with applewood. The result is a light slice of fish, crunchy with a smoky aftertaste. There’s a surprising depth to this dish, an unexpected layer of flavor that hits you at the last minute. It’s a different take, but one readily accepted.

With a menu that features dishes that jump and catch you with a snap of flavor, the mushroom bun dances with subtlety.

The motion of eating the bun should be slow and purposeful; the bread is tender and the 36 S E P T E M B E R 2016

CHINA CASCADES

Clockwise, from top left: Shrimp with wasabi mayo and mango salsa; black buns with salted egg custard and mushroom truffle buns; Shanghai-style soya-braised fish. Previous page: One of China Blue's private rooms.

mushroom filling is nutty and earthy, with a tinge of sweetness at the end—brought together with the dusting of truffle.

The black bun with salted egg custard is colored by the use of the ashes of burnt bamboo; lacquered on the outside, but dull at the tear. The gold paint is just a message of grandeur more than anything else. But inside is a silky and gritty egg custard that takes you by surprise.

China Blue (3/F Conrad Manila, Seaside Boulevard, Coral Way, Pasay; 246-9069) is a concept inspired by the motion of the ocean. It brings you back and forth constantly, ebbing and flowing with flavors, textures, and intensity.

PARTNER PROMOTION

1

The Good Life It’s all about the details

2

3

Vases from the Flower Colour collection by Monika Lubkowska-Jonas for LSA International

GREAT MOMENTS HAPPEN around the repasts, whether they’re casual brunchese and mid-afternoon tea parties, or informal dinners and drinks. It’s not just about putting food and drinks on the table and running a Spotify playlist on continuous loop and more about carefully considering the details that go into a tablescape. Start with creating a special atmosphere: The sparkle of a drop-dead gorgeous droplight sets the mood and amps up the glamor while bringing forth a cozy vibe. Fine tableware, including glass and stemware and various serving pieces, elevate the look of a tablescape. When all these elements come together, magic simply happens

4

Rosen Bridge Chandelier from Timothy Oulton

Hommage Comete Whiskey Set, developed with Charles Schumann for Zwiesel

LSA, TIMOTHY OULTON AND ZWIEZEL ARE DISTRIBU TED BY GARDEN BARN; FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL SALES@GARDENBARN.COM.PH, CALL 833-1080, OR VISIT GARDENBARN. COM.PH; ZWIESEL 1872 IS AVAILABLE AT RUSTAN'S DEPARTMENT STORE AND W17. LSA IS AVAILABLE AT SELECT STUDIO DIMENSIONE STORES, RUSTAN'S DEPARTMENT STORES, AND W17 HOME.

Vienna glass dome with ash base, LSA International

S E P T E M B E R 2016 37

Se p te m b e r 2 0 16

E DI T E D BY

DEVI DE VEYRA

SPACE

ISSUE NO.

102

DESIGN + INTERIORS + ARCHITECTURE + TECHNOLOGY

BRAVE NEW WORLD Italian fashion mogul Renzo Russo brings Diesel’s renegade philosophy to the home sector in collaboration with kitchen specialist Scavolini and home accessories brand Seletti

SPACE DESIGN

THE YEAR 2013 WAS A HIGH MOMENT FOR

Italian mogul Renzo Rosso. That year, the farmer’s son debuted in Forbes’ list of billionaires.

His acquisition of prestige fashion brands Marni, Viktor & Rolf, and La Maison Martin Margiela during the years prior helped secure his entry to the exclusive company of international business titans. There’s also his boutique hotel ventures in Miami and London, a winery near his home in Italy, a tech company venture, among many other things. And the manufacturing and distribution rights for niche labels, which include Vivienne Westwood, added to Rosso’s coffers too.

The years have not tamed the 60-year-old Rosso’s unruly mane, nor his gung-ho attitude.

He landed in fashion and mainstream news pages in 2014 when he signed up the equally controversial John Galliano (who, at that time, was considered an industry pariah) as creative director for Maison Margiela. And just like in the past, Rosso has proven his critics wrong. Maison Margiela is doing fine, thank you, with robust double digit sales growth since Rosso’s takeover.

Rosso’s holding company, Only The Brave, or OTB, has become his financial growth engine.

But it is Diesel, the denim brand he founded, that paved the way for Rosso’s early success, and with it, his renegade hard-partying public persona.

His ad campaigns for the brand cemented his status as mainstream fashion’s antiestablishment poster boy in the 80s. Provocative, risqué (not to mention politically incorrect) at times, and certainly groundbreaking (he was the first to feature two men kissing and not-so40 S E P T E M B E R 2016

MAVERICK VISION

The DIY Cutlery (above left) and the Rocket salt and pepper shaker (right) are also part of Diesel’s collaborative series.

Diesel’s Social Kitchen for Scavolini (above right) was conceptualized for today’s lifestyle. Previous: Diesel Living with Seletti’s Cosmic collection features plates, glasses, and other tabletop accessories.

svelte damsels as models), Rosso’s ads caused controversy, and gained for Diesel a phenomenal international following.

Though Diesel has not regained its lead in the jeans market, Rosso extended the brand’s reach by entering the home sector. Its philosophy translated well in a successful line of furniture created in partnership with shelter brand Moroso. This was followed by collaborations with kitchen specialist Scavolini and home accessories brand Seletti.

Part of Rosso’s genius lies in his financial savvy. And a big part lies in his ability to engage his audience not just with provocative campaigns, but with groundbreaking concepts.

Unlike conventional kitchens, which are usually isolated from the rest of a home’s spaces, the Diesel Social Kitchen with Scavolini presents a more casual and integrated lifestyle.

Rosso’s team imagined today’s kitchen as a social center where people congregate while

meals are being prepared and served as well.

Its design speaks to a contemporary audience who are equally mindful of functionalities as well as style.

It was only natural for Rosso to venture into tableware, which he did with signature aplomb.

The Diesel Living with Seletti collections are refreshingly playful and unlike other traditional brands, unapologetically masculine. The monkey wrench is reappropriated for the dining table in the DIY cutlery set, while nuts and bolts assume new roles as bowls, glasses and other table accoutrements. Diesel looked under the hood of the car for inspiration for the Transmission candlestick.

Diesel’s Cosmic series for Seletti is an invitation to dream. Who on earth would have imagined planets as plates, astronauts as vases, golden orbs with rings intact as sugar bowls, and rockets as salt and pepper shakers? Rosso would have answered, “Only the brave.”

THE

ROGUE SHELFIE

LING QUISUMBING In her work and in creating her surroundings, the artist and notorious hoarder applies her upcycling aesthetic to tell a visual story of rediscovery—like in this shelving unit she built in a surprising spot in her QC quarters PHOTO BY WILLIAM ONG

An oil diptych of an ex-lover made by the artist

To make the shelves, Quisimbing purchased old wood and windows from Laong Laan

The framed postcard is from NY, and comes with a quote from Patrick Mimran that says “50% of the creative process comes from the viewer.”

The vintage Sampaguita pattern glass panes were also sourced from Laong Laan.

The framed doormat is part of the artist's new series of works.

S E P T E M B E R 2016 41

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM ONG

SPACE INTERIORS

ADAPTIVE AGENDA Nostalgia and modernity find common ground in the new Drawing Room of Jun Villalon WORDS BY DEVI DE VEYRA

42 S E P T E M B E R 2016

JUN VILLALON’S THE DRAWING ROOM (G/F Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Don Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City; 801-4397, 801-4398; drawingroomgallery.com) caused a stir when it opened its doors to the public in its new location at Karrivin Plaza in Makati. The inaugural show—a gathering of various works by artists who’ve exhibited with the gallery throughout its existence—was one reason. Keen observers also noticed the unique design of the space’s interiors.

A passing survey of the pristine sprawl reveals its industrial roots, expressed by the exposed ceiling original to the space as well as the generous dimensions. It was also retrofitted and reconfigured to conform to Villalon’s purpose.

He envisioned a contemporary setting—a well-lit gallery without obtrusive lines, shapes, and colors that would distract from the pieces on show. It should have enough breathing space for each art

UNCONVENTIONAL MODEL

Above, from left: J. Anton Mendoza created a cozy office space at one end of the gallery. Sculptures by Paris-based artist Gaston Damag were part of a recent show in the gallery.

Opposite, from top: The imposing grill gate was fashioned out of antique ventanillas, the antique chandelier is from Villalon’s own collection. Mendoza expressed the gallery’s previous life by leaving the ceilings exposed.

piece, allowing a more focused and unhindered viewer experience.

Villalon called on his good friend, the architect J. Anton Mendoza, to breathe life to his vision. The two share a predilection for minimalist aesthetics and a passion for art.

Mendoza went along with Villalon’s modern concept, a hallmark of the architect’s practice.

Mendoza tweaked things a bit along the way by proposing a few variations. He introduced Spanish-Filipino colonial elements, an idea

The marriage of industrial and traditional elements gave birth to a radiant offspring, making its two collaborators, J. Anton Mendoza and Jun Villalon, the de facto godfathers of a new contemporary Filipino style. that initially didn’t sit well with the more conservative Villalon.

The architect ultimately convinced his friend about the values of his proposed gestures which Mendoza described as “references to history that temper the raw, stark character of the gallery.”

He fashioned imposing gates made from antique ventanillas and used them as demarcations between public viewing areas and the private office at the end of the gallery.

Despite his client’s reservations, Mendoza mounted a reproduction of an old church’s murals on the vestibule’s ceiling by the entrance.

He anchored a conference area with an antique chandelier from Villalon’s own collection, left mostly un-retouched except for LED light fittings.

Throughout the redesign, Mendoza stayed sympathetic to the space’s history. Apart from the exposed ceiling, unfinished cement claddings reinforced the industrial vibe while at the same time adding subtle textural and tonal warmth.

The marriage of industrial and traditional elements gave birth to a radiant offspring making its two collaborators the de facto godfathers of a new contemporary Filipino style. Purists might scoff at the deviation, but it’s a strong design statement that proves galleries don’t have to be sterile, soulless cubes.

Being unaware about it, Villalon and Mendoza’s project somehow turned out to be a critique that questions accepted models, with the two also providing a radical solution.

The Drawing Room in effect, also pays a debt every Filipino contemporary artist owes to its heritage. In this space, viewers are immersed in the tokens of a rich and at times tumultuous past that nurtured the blossoming of the artworks before them.

S E P T E M B E R 2016 43

SPACE FURNITURE

Daring and craft bring the world’s most far-flung charms within reach WORDS BY MARIE ANNABELLE MARQUEZ

IN ITS 2016 TOUR DU MONDE COLLECTION,

German outdoor furniture specialist Dedon draws inspiration from trade and travel to create artful intersections of global exploration, modern technology, and respect for traditional craft— all while retaining the brand’s proclivities for elegance and engineered design.

Tigmi, an example of French designer JeanMarie Massaud’s natural aesthetic, comes from the Berber word meaning “house” and “shadow.”

It’s clear why: two layers of cushioning on a deep sofa are nestled in an aluminium frame topped on three sides by a removable sunshade, turning daybed into hideaway. Light breaking through the roof ’s semi-transparent weave recalls the feeling of repose under a thatched beach hut.

Its spaciousness and intimacy invite a catnap on languid afternoons.

The Ahnda wing chair is a marriage of Filipino craftsmanship and ergonomic comfort.

Stephen Burks, the US designer known for working with local artisans, presents a signature open weave pattern from Cebuano craftsmen in three shades of red, stretching across reinforced aluminium. With just the right incline, the circular seat with a two-height headrest and wide back is the perfect chair to settle in with a long read.

An innovation in modular systems, Lou was conceived as a series of overlapping lines

by French creative Toan Nguyen, whose studio focuses on development design in a range of fields. The sleek, low-slung pieces are equally at home on a terrace and in a living room. Armressts meld into the structure of the seat, and concealeed gliders enhance the sense of lightness. The curved

4 4 S E P T E M B E R 2016 2 16

FOR THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Above: Tigmi deep sofa with removable roof, designed

by Jean-Marie Massaud for Dedon. Top: Mbrace wing chair, designed by Sebastian Herkner for Dedon. Below: Dedon’s Porcini side tables by Lorenza Bozzoli.

modules allow for a flexible, snaking configuration, one accentuated by solid teak slats and powder-coated stainless steel tables.

Sebastian Herkner from Germany applies his keen eye for mixing materials to the Mbrace line. Reinvented for the poolside, the lounger, wingback, and rocker come in a refreshing Nordic take that sees the brand’s signature fiber grounded by a solid teak base—a first for the company. The chair’s extra-wide back is its defining feature, but the mesh-like triaxial weave in three colorways (developed with renowned colorist Giulio Ridolfo) draws attention, too.

A nod to heritage and trend, Dedon’s (Living Innovations, Fort Victoria, 5th Avenue cor.

23rd St., Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; 734-3243; info@livinginnovations.ph; dedon. de) latest collection indulges us with one of life’s simplest yet overlooked pleasures—comfortable seats to kick back and relax in.

PARTNER PROMOTION

LUMINOUS PRESENCE

Tom Dixon’s tantalizing lights range from sleek classics to sci-fi fantasies.

Anchor your dining and living room areas with any of these luminaries that are as striking during the day and as they are at night. One piece is strong enough, but we suggest creating a sparkling galaxy right inside your home

1 The Curve pendants feature a precision-pierced surface that gives off a brilliant luminescence 2 Soft and gradated light emanate from the Fade pendants 3 Add personality to a room with the textures and fractal character of the Etch pendant chandelier 4 The Copper Shade pendant wide (near right) and pendant tall (far right) lights’ mirrored surface gives them their bold character

TOM DIXON IS AVAILABLE AT MOS DESIGN, B2, BONIFACIO HIGH STREET, TAGUIG CITY; 856.7915; MOSDESIGN.COM.PH

S E P T E M B E R 2016 45

THE EYE Se p te m b e r 2 0 16

EDITED BY

JACS T. SAMPAYAN

FA S H I O N + S T Y L E + G R O O M I N G

THE END OF SUBURBIA From denim jackets with artistic patterns to puffy 80s shoulders with 16th-century cinching, Alessandro Michele’s new collection for Gucci pushes the boundaries of street fashion with an unmistakable air of youthful exuberance

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PATRICK DIOKNO

102 ISSUE NO.

EMBROIDERED WOOL CARDIGAN, SCARF, BOTH GUCCI. OPPOSITE: EMBROIDERED WOOL CASHMERE SWEATER, STRIPED WOOL SILK SKIRT, BOTH GUCCI. PREVIOUS PAGE: HERITAGE JACKET WITH FRINGE DETAILS, T-SHIRT, JERSEY PANTS, SOCKS, EMBROIDERED SNEAKERS, ALL GUCCI

EMBROIDERED DENIM JACKET, T-SHIRT, TROUSERS, SOCKS, EMBROIDERED SNEAKERS, ALL GUCCI. OPPOSITE: DOUBLEBREASTED WOOL JACKE, WOOL TROUSERS, SHEER GLOVES, DIONYSUS SHOULDER BAG, ALL GUCCI

STYLED BY PATRICK GALANG HAIR AND MAKEUP LIO JAVIER MODELS KSENIA AND CARL OF ELITE MANILA

THE EYE STYLE

A SUITCASE TALE

Industrial designer Marc Newson reinvents Louis Vuitton's luggage trunk into a lightweight, utilitarian carry-on for the modern traveler

STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

One of Time's Most Influential People of the Year, Newson has designed everything from Montblanc pens to Qantas skybeds to Apple watches.

WORDS BY JACS T. SAMPAYAN

I SUPPOSE WHAT tempted me and compelled me to join forces with Louis Vuitton was the challenge of designing a great piece—and, consequently, a range—but primarily a great piece of luggage,” says Australian industrial designer Marc Newson. “Like so many people, I travel a lot and I feel that I am in many ways kind of uniquely placed to be able to do that as a consumer even more than a designer, actually.” Newson recently collaborated with the French fashion house, releasing a luggage line that he imagines as being made for the modern traveler.

This is actually his second partnership with the label; two years ago, he teamed up with Louis Vuitton for its Celebrating Monogram campaign, producing a sculptural backpack that explored the functionalities of the Monogram canvas.

That campaign was “fundamentally a lot of fun, and apart from being able to do exactly what I wanted, there weren’t that many commercial imperatives to consider,” Newson says. “This project, on the other hand, is altogether very different. This product, and range, will be in production indefinitely and available all over the world throughout the Louis Vuitton store network.” He adds that the requirements for this project were more rigorous, with the process delving more into the realms of engineering.

But the collaboration became even more of a challenge with a brief as loose as this one: to

52 S E P T E M B E R 2016

create a carry-on that was meaningful to the contemporary traveler. With that, the target market became even wider, no longer limited to the luxury brand’s loyalists, but fans of utilitarian design. “Functionality was all-important, and that involves considering weight, robustness, volume, the actual usable capacity of the internal dimensions, and how consumers interact with the product,” shares Newson, 52. “Personally, there are many things that irritate me about using products like these and I can safely say that I’ve probably spent 20 years designing these things in my head—eons before I had the opportunity of doing so for Louis Vuitton (Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati; 756-0637; louisvuitton.com).”

Lightness was a priority for this line, achieved through Newson’s technical expertise. “It was a bit like working in a Formula One setup: every little tooth on the zip was weighed. The zip is aluminium and is specially made, so it is lightweight. Every gram was considered, 10 grams here, 25 grams there,” he explains. “I’d say more than 50 percent of my drive and inspiration were devoted to making this a lightweight product because given all the traveling I do, I just don’t want to carry excess weight if I don’t have to. I also understood that this would be a point of difference for us.” The trunks come with a protective cover, an interior removable x strap, and a removable mesh screen divider

panel. Currently available in three sizes, they can be produced in Monogram canvas, Monogram Eclipse, Damier Graphite, Taiga leather, as well as a palette of seven colors in Epi leather. Soon, a rolling luggage with a laser-engraved Monogram titanium finish as well as a check-in size will be available.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re striving to break new ground in terms of developing a product that is one of the lightest on the market and, from a technical perspective, is one of the most rigorously designed and engineered,” Newson says.

Classic Punk

Fred Perry teams up with Art Comes First, the rising stars of inernational menswear, for a capsule collection that is retro-futuristic and street smart WORDS BY JACS T. SAMPAYAN

SINCE CREATING THEIR creative consultancy Art Comes First five years ago, Sam Lambert and his best mate Shaka Maidoh have become the toast of menswear, having conquered Italy’s famed Pitti Uomo and scoring projects and partnerships one after the other. It took the duo three years since meeting to finally get their idea off the ground. Maidoh says that their dynamics sparked off from common interests, from vintage clothing to hobbies to traditions and cultures.

“Creation became a necessity where the end product translated to piece of clothing, art pieces, personal wardrobe and what have you and hence menswear as it was initially and mainly personal,” the British-born and raised stylist tells Dapperlou.com. “To tell you the truth they all relate to each other, for my design I get massive inspiration from vintage pictures I collect,” Lambert says in the same interview, “I wouldn’t be able to style if I didn’t know cloth and proportion, I wouldn’t be able to art direct if I was never behind the camera.”

Art Comes First brings a stylistic approach to all their initiatives, from design to photography.

“It’s really about being able to see something else that others are not seeing,” Lambert explains to Anotherafrica.net. And about this shared perspective they have which separates them from the rest of the pack. “I think there are a lot of people out there who are doing it in different ways. In the industry I love the way Stefano Pilati dresses. Out’ of the industry obviously I will say

my best mate Shaka. Sometimes I feel like when I pick him I know he will say, ‘oh you’re just picking me because people say we look like each other’. But for me, he went through the process and that is important.”

They bring that process to their collaboration with Fred Perry (Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati; 729-0949; fredperry@hommeetfemme. ph), a partnership that has the newer brand’s urbane vision being played out in the English label’s iconic cuts. Lambert says that the ACF man is someone “who drinks tea, wears a tie and appreciates art. He travels in concrete jungles and sometimes in snow clouds. He lives everywhere and nowhere its a true Gypsy,” in an interview with Dapperlou.com. And not letting trends dictate your identity. “Not being yourself, meaning dressing in what you think is fashionable or in what you think people would like to see you wear,” Maidoh answers, when asked by Fashionwelike what the biggest mistake is in dressing up.

It is a collaboration that might seem starkly contrasting at first look, but is actually perfect on closer inspection. Both brands place a premium on craftmanship and old school tailoring, and have a staunch stand for making vintage looks as timeless as possible. From woven collar pique shirts to slong sleeved track jackets, the collection’s pieces done in monochrome with the ACF label up-at-front and in-your-face are decidely street, but clean and cool.

FRED PERRY IS AVAILABLE AT GREENBELT 5, AYALA CENTER, MAKATI; 729-0949; FREDPERRY@HOMMEETFEMME.PH

THE EYE ACCESSORIES

HEAVY METAL Men’s jewelry has adorned the most powerful men in history: Egyptian pharaohs, baby boomer war heroes, dignified datu, among many others.

The last few seasons has seen a resurgence in masculine bling among brands, from international fashion houses to local artisans WORDS BY PAOLO ENRICO MELENDEZ

IF THIS SHORT piece were a bracelet, think of this intro as our catch: More and more men are wearing jewelry. Apart from the wedding band and cufflinks, a gold watch and silver Byzantine tie chain. Beyond Guy Fieri and Soulja Boy. Consider these as the links in our curb chain: You have many reasons to try it out. A slim necklace can accentuate broad shoulders. A bold metal bracelet can serve as a contrast to a toned arm.

A handsome ring can make the space between the peaks of one’s knuckles evoke thoughts of headway: secret bunker on a remote border, one last camp before the final summit. Like many other symbols, jewelry is a way of telling people who we are, how we see the world, how we’re moving to change or influence it.

Now think of this as our spacers: There’s a multitude of choices in an array of materials.

From simple woven leather bands to intricate triple-wrapped bracelets of silver, gold, and platinum. Access is not an issue either. Hit any department store, brand shop, or rummage sale and you’ll very likely encounter a choice or two.

Which brings us to this last thought, which can be regarded as the tongue: If Orlando Bloom and David Beckham can pull it off, so can you.

The keys are subtlety and bona fides; no sense wearing a huge clock necklace if you’re more Michael Cera than Flavor Flav. Wear it, own it.

And tell it. Because the best pieces come with a story. This unique buckle discovered halfway into a sweaty souk crawl in Istanbul. That snarling monkey pendant sold by a half-blind guerilla in Siem Reap. A set of shirt studs handed down to you from a father long lost and always missed.

54 S E P T E M B E R 2016

ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE

First row, from left: Gucci bangle; Accoutrements NY by Annie chen silver rings; Givenchy bracelet. Second row, from left: YSL monkey brooch; Gucci ring. Third row, from left: YSL cobra chain bracelet; Accoutrements NY by Annie Chen lapel chain; Bottega Veneta bracelets. Fourth row, from left: Accoutrements NY by Annie Chen bangles; Thomas Sabo airplane pendant; Bottega Veneta chain necklaces.

Opposite: Bottega Veneta bracelet and ring.

SEE SHOPLIST (PAGE 122) FOR STORE INFORMATION

S E P T E M B E R 2016 55

THE EYE STYLE

Shuffling Feet, Moving Mountains Jeremy Langmead, the editorial genius behind Mr Porter, offers travel tips and sartorial guidance after trekking the mountains of Bhutan in a pair of slip-ons INTERVIEW BY MAGS OCAMPO

JEREMY LANGMEAD KNOWS a good story when he sees one—his many years at the helm of heavyweight titles such as Wallpaper, Esquire, and Mr Porter are a testament to that. With the added advantage of a keen eye for fashion, Langmead was definitely a perfect candidate for homegrown brand Harlan+Holden’s Camino challenge. Langmead joined other style savants and storytellers such as Caroline Issa and Mark Nicdao on a short trip to Bhutan to put the brand’s lightweight slip-ons to the test—the test being a few days of trekking, that is. Fresh from the Bhutan challenge and a quick stopover in the Philippines, the Brand and Content Director

IN HIS SHOES

Langmead, sporting a pair of blue Caminos, during his #CaminoChallenge trek in the Kingdom of Bhutan last July. Opposite, from top: On the way to Paro Takstang (Tiger's Nest) is a smattering of homes on a misty mountain; the Harlan+Holden group included Caroline Issa, Kim Jones, Tim Yap, and Monica Zobel Urquijo.

56 S E P T E M B E R 2016

of Mr Porter shares some of his latest trip’s best anecdotes and insights.

What’s it like working as one of the heads of an international publication and e-commerce platform?

It’s exhilarating and demanding. We always have a lot of projects happening in tandem across all our platforms. Whether it’s a new holiday marketing campaign, launching daily as well as weekly content, new brands and categories to launch, our print newspaper that comes out six times a year . . . it keeps you on your toes.

How often do you go on vacation?

Not often enough. I live between our apartment

in London and a house in the countryside and so try to spend the summer vacation in the country as I don’t spend enough time there. And since I travel a lot for work it’s always a treat not to sit on a plane. However, I tend to vacation in the south of France or the Amalfi coast. They are easy to reach, very beautiful, and I speak the languages.

Once a year I go skiing in Switzerland, too.

As fashion and travel go hand in hand, what are some essentials for staying in style while on the go?

Depends on the location, but I always travel in dark colors as you never know what may spill on you on an aeroplane or boat. Jeans and a sweatshirt with a pair of runners for planes,

and I always pack a navy blazer (they go with everything, and you can dress them up or down) as well as a pale blue shirt; a crisp blue shirt always adds colour in your face, disguises jetlag or a hangover, and makes you feel fresh and ready to go.

What was your initial reaction when you learned about the #CaminoChallenge?

I was very excited. I love a challenge, love trekking, and had always wanted to visit Bhutan.

How did the Caminos actually fare on the two hikes you went on?

They were incredibly comfortable, versatile, and hardy. We had no blisters despite walking up and down rocky terrain for hours and hours.

What was clever was how they actually got more comfortable the longer you wore them for. The memory foam molded itself to the shape and movement of your feet. We didn’t want to swap them for new ones as they felt so good after each day’s hike.

As an internationally renowned editor and content creator, what makes a good story?

One that reflects the lives, or captures the dreams, of its readers. We always try to make sure each story inspires, informs, and entertains.

In line with that, what’s your best story from Bhutan?

I think my favorite part was watching the girls, who were all so beautifully dressed—often headto-toe in white—navigate the mud and slopes and random cows meandering along the mountainsides whilst trying to remain photo-perfect.

I have to say most of them still looked pristine at the end of the day. And those that didn’t managed to laugh a lot at their misfortune— a smile on your face is always the most stylish thing you can wear.

How was your recent visit to the Philippines?

Manila and its inhabitants were so full of energy and ambition and hope. I loved the positiveness I encountered there. I thought the women were very stylish: they wore the clothes so well and with an effortless ease.

Can you give us three crucial travel tips?

Always have a cocktail when arriving at your destination. It helps with jetlag.

Eat early and sleep long on a flight. Drink lots of water and make sure you have an aisle seat so you can access the bathroom easily.

Pile on the moisturizer at the beginning of the flight as it will help you look fresher on arrival.

What’s your relationship with a Philippine brand like Harlan+Holden?

Their pieces seem effortless and easy. They are designed to complement rather than dictate your style. There was quiet and understated luxury to them. To me, it comes across as an intelligent, flexible brand that understands its customers.

What’s your take on personal style?

I always pack a navy blazer (they go with everything, and you can dress them up or down) as well as a pale blue shirt, which always adds color in your face, and disguises jetlag or a hangover.

I think it’s important because its important to feel comfortable with who you are and how you THE CAMINO IS AVAILABLE AT HARLAN+HOLDEN, POWER PLANT MALL, ROCKWELL CENTER, MAKATI; 898-1702; HARLANHOLDEN.COM

look. But even more important is to dress to make the people you meet feel comfortable. So I will create a wardrobe that suits the day I have ahead and the people I will spend time with.

Here’s a hypothetical situation: You wake up with just 10 minutes left to get ready for a day full of work and errands. What’s a foolproof outfit that you can just throw on?

Dark jeans, navy blazer, T-shirt or formal shirt, brogues. Easy and versatile.

What is your Camino fantasy?

I loved the array of designs they have produced already; there is something for every occasion.

Perhaps a chambray pair next?

S E P T E M B E R 2016 57

THE EYE STYLE

CALM AND COLLECTED

Hermès menswear artistic director Véronique Nichanian plays around with splashes of color, adding a youthful vibe for the fashion house’s Autumn-Winter collection WORDS BY MICHEALLE TORRES

IT WAS A different ff kind of Hermès man that walked down the runway during the maison’s Autumn-Winter 2016 presentation in Paris. More youthful and modern, unafraid to wear vibrant colors but at the same time staying true to his love for quality and craftsmanship.

Although the show notes mentioned “pure black,” Hermès’ artistic director Véronique Nichanian must have taken her color wheel out for a spin. Along with the usual winter palette of camel, grey and navy blue, the first looks on the runway featured raspberry-colored trousers, a turquoise cashmere pullover and sneakers with a splash of bright Hermès orange (which might very well be the It sneaker of the season). These pieces were expertly mixed with black calfskin jackets, camel trousers and navy wool blazers—the staples that we expect to see every season. Now this is where Nichanian’s fashion savvy and creativity come in. As she puts out each look on the runway, you can see how she has managed to

bring Hermès (Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati; 757-8910) menswear into more modern sensibilities but still not lose the very essence of the brand. With her combination of sneakers and suits, or a raspberry pullover with tailored black pants, Nichanian manages to appeal to the new generation of luxury lovers, without forgetting their fathers who introduced them to the maison in the first place.

One of the highlights of this season is the scarves wrapped around the neck for almost every look. The emblematic silk carrés came in a Mumbai print that mixed raspberry, turquoise, fuchsia, yellow and blue—a combination of colors that pay tribute to its namesake.

Nichanian’s use of scarves for the menswear collection is yet another testament to her mastery of this aesthetic: cool and casual in the same breath, sporty and elegant at the same time.

Love at First Bite: Bolide 45 Shark With every Hermès collection, everyone always looks out for the bags. Last Spring, we saw casual tote bags in beige canvas and bright green leather, easy-to-carry pieces that were perfect for the season. This season, Nichanian gives us another evidence of her playful mood through the Bolide 45 Shark travel bag that features a shark’s gaping jaw. Kitschy? Perhaps, but crafted in Barénia calfskin it still exudes luxury. Nichanian’s formula for the maison’s menswear line has been winning her accolades season after season. She makes luxury seem so natural and dressing-up seem so effortless. In these turbulent times, when designers are going faster than you can say “creative director,” the Nichanian and Hermès team-up is more formidable than ever.

58 S E P T E M B E R 2016

THE EYE STYLE

For 10 years, Lucas Ossendrijver has created the Lanvin man's identity, a successful personification borne out of utilitarianism and creative editing WORDS BY JACS T. SAMPAYAN

When Lucas Ossendrijver joined Lanvin to head meanswear more than a decade ago, he set out to make clothes that didn’t focus on

what was trendy but on what men actually needed.

“We decided to develop a new silhouette in suiting and jackets; everything became softer, with less shoulder pads and a bit more generous in cut,” he tells Matchesfashion.com. The 46-year-old says that his craft is his passion and admits to thinking about clothes all the time, with inspiration coming from random, weird places. “It’s something I can’t help. It comes naturally. I never have to look for something, it comes when my mind sort of wanders off,” ff he shares. “I like to go to the theater to see modern dance—even when it’s not as good as yyou ho your mind starts to wander and n a trance.

Those moments are when ideas come.”

LANVIN IS AVAILABLE AT HOMME ET FEMME 8, GROUND FLOOR, 8 ROCKWELL, MAKATI; 843-2025; HEF.8RW@HOMMEETFEMME.ORG

h Netherland were spent outdoors, his childhood memories colored by the smell of wood and frenetic energy at his father’s construction company. But even as a child he knew that he would take a different ff path from his family, his mind better suited to more artistic pursuits. After studying at Arnhem’s Institute of Arts, he gained experience at different ff brands working with the likes of Hedi Slimane before being hired by Alber Elbaz in 2005. Since then, he has placed Lanvin menswear at the forefront, highlighting in particular the brand’s footwear, which was both a critical and commercial success. “I wanted a trainer that was simple but luxurious. I wanted it to be interesting without being completely over the top,” he said.

His shoes present themselves as a curious mix, combining outburst of color or gradience with that luxurious polish. “Elegance implies the natural. There’s nothing workse than overworked look.

You can spot them a mile off,” ff he intimates to Vogue. “Even if there is a lot of work behind a natural appearance, it should never look that way, it should always feel like the innate expression of the wearer’s personality.”

The creative director considers himself very luck to be doing what h he h does. d “People “P l complain l i a lot l in i fashion. f hi I don’t d ’ know k why.” h ”

SEPTEMBER

0

59

GUE

S

RO

PRESE

N

T

A G U I D E TO GROOMING IN THE CIT Y

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Kuwentong barbero. The tall tale and the long line, told amiably and received likewise. Such is the importance of the barber in Filipino culture that he inhabits his own idiom, and here, warrants this special feature. Find the latest barbers, zero in on some great post-haircut products, or just catch up on some great barbershop banter around town, all without turning a hair

BARBER'S TALES

My Barber,

my buddy O

More than a grooming habit, a biweekly visit to a suki is, for Dean Francis Alfar, akin to seeing an old friend edge for the patillas on the sides. Then he seeks any stray hairs that do not conform to the pattern of his cut and trims them to appropriate length.

We contribute to the swell of small talk in the barbershop, asking about each other’s wife and children. His two eldest kids are nearly the same age as my daughters, with his youngest boy trailing a couple of years behind.

He asks about my work and my dancing (such is the nature of our friendship that he even recommended a ballroom teacher); I ask him about the sideline business that he and his wife put up, providing packed lunches for employees in the nearby

For some, the barbershop is a confessional.

So I’ve overheard all sorts of stories

The great haircut venue debate Is it better to get a trim at home or at the shop? Rogue splits hairs WORDS BY PAOLO ENRICO MELENDEZ

BARBERSHOP

HOME

The wait

There is no barbershop too classy for daytime radio. Tambalang Desperaymond at Jenniperdition.

Richard Clayderman plays as the DJs homilize: “Tungkulin ng babae ang magpatawad!” The straight razors take on a strange new appeal.

Watch a how’s-it-made video: nautical plywood, doorstops, mulch. No one is around to judge.

Remember that Polish noisecore band your girlfriend’s younger brother keeps bugging you to google? Do it. Just don’t forget incognito mode.

The prep

Hot towels. A fresh rinse. Huge spotless mirror framing your cushy throne. Georgian flourish of crisp cutting cape. “Take two inches off the top!” you command. All around you: conniption.

You haven’t bathed and you’re in boxers.

Of course your barber takes charge.

The cut The result

A haircut is the spontaneous overflow of a barber’s emotions as recollected in tranquility. The venue does not matter.

Nape powdered, chin moisturized, shoulders loose—you are a new man ready to face endo and surge pricing.

62 S E P T E M B E R 2016

mall. It is light talk, always comforting.

My eyes are usually closed, but from time to time I open them and talk to his reflection in the mirror—or when I hear something interesting from the other patrons of the shop.

For some, the barbershop is a confessional. So I’ve overheard all sorts of stories, ranging from the sordid (a man who always drops by to spruce up before visiting his much younger mistress) to gossip fodder (an actor who relates how another famous actor is a monster on the set).

When my haircut is done, the preparation for the shave begins. Raul begins by applying some salve on my forehead, cheekbones, and the tip of my nose, transitioning into a gentle massage.

Then he spreads a hot towel on my face, beginning with the area under my nose and chin then wrapping the steaming cloth in an “X” over my eyes. The heat is always striking at first, but coolness swiftly sets in. After a few moments, he removes it and lathers my face with shaving foam, leaving it for a while to soften the stubble, before wiping away the soapy whiteness with a fresh hot towel. I am ready for the shave.

The feel of a straight razor against my skin is almost a sinful pleasure. As the blade scrapes up my throat, my overactive writer’s mind idly toys with the imagined threat of Raul’s hand slipping, the possibility of metal quickly cutting and silently slicing under my skin. There is a freedom in submitting yourself to the skill of your barber. In those exquisite moments of exposure, of eyes-closed helplessness, there is a relaxing tension of what could be, what could happen— but doesn’t. Of course, Raul has never cut me. He has my complete trust.

In 2004, he convinced me that I could grow a beard and moustache. I didn’t believe him at first because nothing more

There’s an old joke about getting a bad cut: “Buhay pa barbero mo?” If you’re at home, you can be proactive with that query.

GETTY IMAGES

ne of the little things I look forward to is my biweekly barbershop maintenance visit. In my twenties, I used to have long hair that I kept in a ponytail, but since I got married I’ve favored a cropped look ranging from setting number 1 on the electric razor to letting it grow just a bit. A few days before my scheduled maintenance cut, I let my moustache and beard grow out. Raul, my regular barber for over a decade, is a master of the razor, and getting a shave is part of the ritual.

At the Don Juan barbershop in Greenhills, we begin with the haircut.

Raul uses an electric razor for the most part, shaving off the excess hair that two weeks brings. Then he shifts to small scissors for fine-tuning and the straight

BARBER'S TALES than a shadow of a shadow grew on my upper lip, chin, and jowls. He asked me to trust him, saying it would take time but it would happen. And after some time and much impatience on my part, I had facial hair. With no mysterious ointments or treatments but just his implacable insistence on shaving the target areas, Raul persuaded hair to grow, in a wonderful reversal of his usual task.

The payment for services at the counter ends my visit, but not before I go back and hand Raul a tip for consistently taking care of me—whether for maintenance or because I need to look good for a special occasion. Of course, at the core of things, my visit is transactional, but it never really feels like that. It feels like visiting an old friend.

KNOCKOUT CUT

While the boxerturned-lawmaker's sentiments have been polarizing at best, his slick new 'do is a unanimous hit.

FROM THE OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE OF SENATOR MANNY PACQUIAO

THERE CAME A TIME WHEN WORK,

travel abroad, and traffic consistently prevented me from visiting Raul. Instead, I set up a series of alternate barbers, determined more by geographical convenience than any other factor. They were all generally competent but I was never truly satisfied by either cut or shave. I found myself missing my regular barber.

Before I knew it, over a year had passed, and feeling like a cheating spouse I braved the hour-long traffic to Greenhills to my old barbershop.

Raul smiled when he saw me, and as soon as I was seated and covered by a cutting cape, we proceeded to catch up.

Closing my eyes, I asked him why he looked much thinner than when I last saw him. He said something that I could not hear above the other conversations in the shop.

“My son died,” he repeated.

His words became hollow sounds to my ears. I could not make sense of the story he was telling me because of the dull ache that filled my heart. I opened my eyes, blinded by tears—hearing one of my greatest fears come true, having it happen to someone I knew, a young father like me. I looked at our reflection, our eyes meeting in the mirror as Raul stopped talking.

In the mutual silence that followed, I struggled for words.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. For his loss, for the senselessness of the world, for not being around sooner so I could offer some help, for not being able to offer any measure of comfort, for triggering his grief. For not being a regular.

He looked away for a moment, blinking his eyes.

“It’s okay, sir,” Raul, my barber said, raising the scissors in his hand. “I’m happy you’re back.”

The Senator's

NEW DO

No matter what comes out of his mouth, Manny Pacquiao looks charming and respectable on the senate floor. Here’s who’s responsible

Y

ou may not agree with his rhetoric, but surely you will agree the senator hasn’t looked this good, this youthful, this approachably distinguished. It’s the hair. The cut and its styling. And he has Maria Rachele Aguila to thank. The “barbera” has been the go-to stylist for Pacquiao manager Arnold Vegafria’s talents when they need a retweaking of their look and image. Aguila first worked on the senator’s two kids Jimuel and Michael for their modeling gigs, and daddy was quite pleased with what he saw. He booked her immediately for his Robust Energy Drink commercial and since then Aguila has been dropping by the Pacquiao home in Forbes to perform her services. She’s been working with the senator for two months now, and was the one who prepped him for the SONA and that much talked about God-is-for-death-penalty privilege speech in August.

“I thought he really needed to say goodbye to the Justin Bieber hair,” Aguila tells Rogue. “He needed a cleaner look because he is now a senator.” It was all a matter of trimming away the sides, and showing a bit of skin; highlighting the crown, and slicing the fringes to show more of his forehead, “like a peekaboo.” In short, just really opening up the senator’s face for a look that’s, for a lack of a better term, “maaliwalas.” Aguila is a freelance stylist but she’s affiliated with the Margaret and Charles Salon in BGC. She trained in Australia for two years, apprenticing under different stylists. Her clients there were mostly men, hence earning the alias the “barbera.” But her training began as early as when she was six, the age when she started cutting her father’s hair. Not surprisingly, her grandfather was a barber, and she would hang out in his barbershop as a kid. We asked her how Pacquiao is as a client. “He is very nice and down-to-earth,” she says. “He likes to play chess.” When she’s working on him, she adds, “nagmememorize siya ng bills, or he asks what music I like and he plays it.” Aguila always manages to say, “Praise music!” God bless Rachele Aguila.

S E P T E M B E R 2016 63

BARBER'S TALES

Back in Business

5

While the hypnotic spin of a barber’s pole has lost its meaning and appeal through the years, there are other reasons why a trip to the barbershop continues to hold a kind of allure. Maybe it’s the sensation of slipping into a chair that can recline to a near-horizontal position, or the memory it sparks of weekend dates with Dad. Whatever it is, a visit to a traditional men’s barbershop—old school, if that creates a more definitive visual—is the new habit among today’s men, including younger dudes who grew up having their locks maintained in their mom’s unisex salon. Here are six new haunts to visit WORDS BY MITZI DUQUE-RUIZ

2

TALASMANILEÑO @talasmanilenyo talasmanilenyobarbershop

3

1

BACK ALLEY @backalleybarbershop backalleybarberandshop

A cult favorite since it opened in March 2014. You're looking for the experience of supple leather chairs and barbers in ties, button-downs, and manly aprons, this is it.

“What we think we have going for us are simple, straightforward services, all delivered well,” says Back Alley’s Arnold Bengco, “from the preferred style that barbers go through with the customers, to the carefully chosen tools that we use—Japanese handmade scissors, Japanese-made razors, grooming products with natural ingredients—and our curated music and reading materials.”

At Back Alley, each service comes with hand pressed cup of coffee or a bottle of beer. “Through the shop, we believe that we have improved the livelihood and profession of barbering,” adds Bengco. Best-selling services include the Cut and Shave (P400) and Fonzie (P1,000). Back Alley’s call to men out there? Be a #betterdude.

G/F Alpha Salcedo Condominium, Bautista Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City; (0947) 518-5736

Hair of the Dog

Cubao X is not a place for everyone, but this nostalgic-looking barbershop amid the cluster of shops in the bustling Quezon City commercial district is reason enough to drop by.

TalasManileño’s most requested service is, of course, the Manileño (P450)—a shampoo, haircut, head massage, and styling, served with either a craft beer or a cup of brewed local coffee. Other guys go for the Pompadour, a style famously sported by Elvis, James Dean, and one of the barbershop’s owners, actor Jericho Rosales.

8101 Pearl Plaza, Plaza Drive, Barangay San Antonio, Ortigas Center, Pasig; (0917) 837-1290

6

Is this newbie that opened last July 22 hipster, street, or hip-hop?

Actually, it’s more about the familiar rather than the unique.

“We have a very intimate setting that allows us to pay attention to customers and provide all the appropriate services they need in one sitting,” says proprietor Kenneth Pumarega. The services are very affordable and the space and interiors— designed by Empire Designs—are classy and tasteful.

“Our interiors aim to give customers a feeling of value and importance once they step in," adds Pumarega.

1

TITAN

W www.titan22.com

THE ELEPANT'S NOOK TheElephantsNook

Opened in time for the school year, this barbershop near Katipunan Avenue has an instant market in male students in the area. The hipster logo gives potential clients an idea of what to expect, and once inside, it’s easy to see the place is a step up from the usual neighborhood barberya. The industrial feel of its interiors and its music complement the services its skilled barbers offer. Besides the expected cuts, there are skin care services—which men need and many traditional barbershops tend to overlook.

“We have the largest collection of men’s grooming products, too,” says owner Tomas Pestaño. Slickville is the authorized Philippine distributor of Imperial Barber Products, JS Sloane, Fulton & Roark, and Lockhart’s, and the authorized Philippine dealer for Suavecito, Layrite, Hanz de Fuko, Billy Jealousy, Cliff Original, Edwin Jagger, and Truefitt & Hill, as well as many local brands.

A favorite service is the Signature Cut (P350), a traditional haircut with shampoo and blow-dry, back-ofthe-neck hot towel shave, mustache trim, neck and shoulder massage, face refresher, and a styled finish.

Slickville will open its second branch in the Quezon Avenue and Banawe Street area by the end of the year.

153 B. Gonzales Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City; (0915) 906-9475

6

@theelephantsnookbarbershop

Old School-New School recommendations to recover from a hard, late, and wild night

64 S E P T E M B E R 2016

The Elephant’s Nook boasts a good mix of barbers, all of whom bring a wealth of experience from years in the trade.

Sought-after services include the Cut and Wash (P350), which comes with a complimentary massage and free drink, and the Cut, Wash, and B-Sculpt (P600), which is designed for bearded clientele. Because students are among its customers, The Elephant’s Nook offers an affordable cut for P250.

Cubao Expo, 38 General Romulo Avenue, Barangay Socorro, Cubao, Quezon City, (0917) 503-1842; Landers Superstore, Quezon City, 283-9631

3

SLICKVILLE BARBERS slickvillebarbers

4

VITO'S GENTS GROOMING @vitosgentsgrooming vitosgentsgrooming

This barbershop in Valle Verde 5 is as old-school as it gets: note the traditional setup of barber chairs and the staff of barong-clad barbers.

Owned and operated by a young Valle Verde resident who spares his neighbors the trouble of going through the hassle of heavy traffic and parking problems to get their grooming fix.

Valle Verde 5 Community Center, Pasig; (0947) 375-8123, (0915) 411-2751

This one-stop concept shop of branded basketball shoes and jerseys and select athletic apparel is also a barbershop that offers traditional grooming services in a milieu designed for sports lovers. Get the popular Cut+ Shave (P400) while reading a magazine or catching a game on TV, or set an appointment for the Titan Special (P600), a full service haircut, hot towel shave, and relaxing scalp massage.

G/F Two Park Arcade, 30th Street, The Fort, Bonifacio Global City; (0917) 656-4341. B332-B333, 3/F UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City; 990-2886, (0917) 875-0568. No. 215-216, 2/F Glorietta 5, Ayala Center, Makati City; 823-5251, (0917) 875-0567. No. 230-231 S Maison, 2/F Conrad Manila, Marina Way, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City; (0917) 651-4339.

The absolute essential service after a heavy night out is our famous Hungover Treatment—consisting of well timed hot and cold towels interspersed with cleansers and exfoliation products. An alternative to rejuvenate a dude’s hair is our Fonzie—a scalp treatment to invigorate and reset one’s cool stature like the TV legend himself.

—Arnold Bengco, BACK ALLEY

2

A facial treatment for me is a must. That play between specialized facial products, barber’s massage and hot & cold towels just really freshens you up.

—Kenneth Pumarega, ELEPHANT’S NOOK

BARBER'S TALES

Where Everybody

London, UNITED KINGDOM

Knows your name

Essaouira, MOROCCO

GETTY IMAGES

To a regular, the haircut is almost incidental. A barber shop is a hang out and public forum, debate venue and daycare. Nearly killed off by the disposable razor, barbershops have reemerged as the historical middlechild of bygone fraternizing and contemporary haste. And rightly so. There’s not a lot of places full of sharp things where men can converge without incident. Here are some of them across the globe.

New York City, USA

Shanghai, CHINA

Do It Yourself Here are some suggestions to help you recreate—or sustain— the barbershop experience at home SEE SHOPLIST (PAGE 122) FOR STORE INFORMATION

Bleu De Chanel shave gel, CHANEL

MattePomade, JOHN ALLAN'S

AgeDefender Power Serum, KIEHL'S

Cedrat Purifying Shampoo, L'OCCITANE

Clear Improvement Mask, ORIGINS

S E P T E M B E R 2016 65

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

PR S NTS S

Experience the distinction of the only authentic German beer festival in the Philippines.

The

78th

Oktoberfest

features

a

collection

of

time-honored

German

traditions,

a

sumptuous Bavarian feast, lively entertainment featuring the musical stylings of the Bavarian Sound Express, free-flowing beer and exciting raffle prizes.

7th - 8th of October 2016 at 6:00pm Harbor Garden Tent, Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila

For ticket sales and inquiries, please call The German Club Manila at 894.2899 or email the reservations@germanclub.ph.

For room reservations, please call Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila at 551.5555 exts. 1991 to 1994, or email at h6308@sofitel.com.

THE SLANT Se p te m b e r 2 0 16

EDITED BY

PAOLO ENRICO MELENDEZ

102 ISSUE NO.

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OPINIONS + IDEAS + PERSPECTIVES

Fashionable Victims

Romance Politics

Refashionista

Paolo Enrico Melendez In the 1970s, social conditions and political need led to the birth of the OFW. Those deployed in the Middle East sent home money, and brought back a signature look.

Lobregat Balaguer Toxic leadership and a subservient populace: popular on paperback, contentious in real life. A perspective on the urgency of detaching our politics from our pulp fiction.

Nerisa del Carmen Guevara For some, style is as much movement as a fixed point. In its purer form, it evolves organically, without regard for the seasonal.

It is one’s state of mind, made visible.

Paolo Enrico Melendez ON THE PERFORMATIVITY OF THE MIDDLE EAST OFW FASHION SENSE

We all know the look: denim on denim, expensive shades, gold bracelets, and necklaces thicker than accents in a foreign land. Love it or hate it, there’s an undeniable richness to Middle East OFW fashion

A

foreign correspondent refers to overseas employment as our country’s civil religion. If so, then our Overseas Filipino Workers are the clergy, on whom we rest our hopes. Theirs is a delineation of faith. They do not leave “para magpayaman.” They leave “para maghanap ng suwerte.” And theirs, too, is the regalia, instantly recognizable, and ingrained in the public consciousness.

The Middle East OFW look in particular—denim jacket, white trainers, shades, cap, and of course, the gold bling in aggressive configurations—has had almost five decades of refinement. Filipinos leaving the country for work abroad is no modern phenomenon, but economic policy in the 1970s gave it official fiat.

And it wasn’t just economic pressure, too: there was a very real social need for the authoritarian government of that time to help find work for a restless population.

The labor demographic is now long established. From a mere 36,500 warm bodies when the program started in 1975, there are now upwards of 2.4 million Filipinos working abroad. And with the set workforce is the normal need to construct an identity, perfectly 68 S E P T E M B E R 2016

calibrated, and naturally performative.

The look is mediated. There are therefore many permutations. The ones from North America, more often than not, boast the branded baggy wear of suburbia, authenticating stickers still on the brims of snapbacks, high cut basketball kicks on feet like cinderblocks on a signpost. In Jakarta, where my mother worked as part of the diplomatic corps, I bought a batik shirt by a top Indonesian brand. I wore it with pride. To a school fair in an exclusive girls’ school, no less. Was I confident? Of course. Was I well-received? Of course not.

The Middle East look is most iconic. It is even surrounded by myth. Story has it that the mandatory Raybans allow the men to surreptitiously check out women—an illegal act in that conservative region.

The look is also iterative. The brands may change but the mainstays are as constant as our

country’s appetite for balikbayan boxes. The look has barely changed as well. Very few performativities undergo so little change. I learned quickly to drop the batik shirts, but I was slow in learning that clove cigarettes weren’t making me popular either.

And it cuts across such a varied field of workers: professional, technical, administrative, and managerial workers. The clerks and the salespeople and the folks in production lines and agricultural areas. That’s pretty much unheard of, locally. Just go to any random Makati or Ortigas office cafeteria and see how easy it is to differentiate the professions, even in the usual Babel of breaktime.

It is likewise citational. There’s class in the look; what’s expensive here may be what’s cheap there, and so accumulation becomes social capital, sadly relevant when one considers that one in every three OFWs is a laborer or unskilled worker. There’s personality, too. Above all, there is gender: unflinchingly macho, and more than a little dismissive of the mainstream fops in the city.

One can argue that the look stands to evolve.

There are now more women OFWs than men.

And the demography as a whole is getting younger, from an average of 35 just 10 years ago to an age group of 25 to 29 years. But one will be hard-pressed to predict its dissolution.

Because above all else, the look, no, the sensibility, is proselytistic. It goes beyond the sartorial. For instance, Pulong Anahao in Mabini Batangas, whose significant male population is employed in Italy, has an abundance of Italian villas instead of the usual provincial bungalow. Sure, like all performances, it appeals to some, and alienates others. Someone less forgiving of contexts may point out that the villas are nothing but vernacular: the oranges are the shade of too-sweet fruit drink—not juice, drink; the greens are similar to cheap bath soap, the kind that barely lathers; the blues are barely fit for jeepneys in the big city. But the influence of this sensibility is undeniable. Now there are low-cost rowhousing developments with preposterous names like Casa Castile and Les Voulez Vous, all using trelliage as shorthand for prosperity. It is evidence that the OFWs have found their luck. And like anyone who has been rewarded by their faith, they want others to know about it.

Story has it that the mandatory Raybans allow the men to surreptitiously check out women— an illegal act in that conservative region.

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Fashionable Victims

Lobregat Balaguer ON OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH RODRIGO DUTERTE

Romance Politics On paper, romance villains and dictators share much in common.

That should stay in the realm of fiction, one writer argues

ILLUSTRATED BY SERIOUS STUDIO

P

aperback romance novels in the Philippines, known simply as pocketbooks, follow very predictable story lines. A typical one might go as follows: Rich man meets beautiful and somewhat feisty girl (also could be the other way around, but generally it is the man who has acquisitive power). Rich man, a baddish boy with a gambling problem plus failing business combo, a penchant for misogyny, infidelity or some other toxic etcetera. Meets girl who is beautiful but for some reason doesn’t have all the balls in her court and needs him for something. Girl doesn’t like—actually, let’s be real, hates—man at first but admits he’s pantylaglag gorgeous. Man is mean to girl and then suddenly super nice. Man may date rape girl. Or kidnap her. Or borrow money and refuse to pay her back. He will tell her, though, that he loves her über alles even

though he knows practically nothing about her.

After some sort of dramatic denouement where his lack of integrity shines, sun-like, girl forgives him for his douchebaggery. In an unexpected twist that defies logic, she may even have to run after him and apologize for some minor offense, so in the end it comes out that he forgives her.

She melts into his chiseledness because he is so handsome (i.e., has such pale skin) and loves her so hard. There must be a graphically depicted sex scene somewhere in the story. Girl is usually a virgin, but true to the Madonna-whore archetype, she may display wanton behavior

way beyond her first timer experience level.

Books are between 100–150 pages long, sized at approximately 6.5 x 4.5 inches. Type is set at about 12-14 points with ample leading. A complimentary bookmark found between the pages of a pocketbook states, “The more you hate, the harder you fall in love.”

Pocketbook romance novels account for a fairly large percentage of the active readership in the Philippines and not just for women. A sister genre would be the serial or short story published in tabloids, which count on a high percentage of male readership judging by the half-naked women who often grace the covers. These tabloids—an only slightly ironic favorite of mine is Bulgar—are consumed on the regular by majority male professions such as drivers, highway vendors, construction workers, messengers, etc. These serials are often well within the realm of sleazy erotica.

Rapes are a typical “love making” scene depicted in both pocketbooks and tabloid serials. Both genres include self-effacing behaviors from the female protagonists, who do have some level of agency and are portrayed as being strong-minded, but in the end these women tend to forgive the unforgivable. They freely choose to subjugate themselves to toxic men.

Rodrigo Duterte is the male bida of the recently released The Duterte Manifesto, which in essence is a political pocketbook. It is not, like Mao’s Red Book, a philosophical treatise of his political stances but rather a collection of quotes, jokes, fan art, unverified personal accounts of the president’s Jesus-like qualities, canonical lists and an editorial intro by demitroll Senyora Santibañez. Available at National Bookstore outlets across the nation for only 149 pesos, DU30’s “blue book” was published by one of the country’s largest media conglomerates, ABS-CBN. This conglomerate is owned by the Lopez family, which was famous in the mid-20th century for being a president maker, as the candidates patriarch Eugenio Lopez, Sr. endorsed through his media outlets were usually those who won the elections.

The Duterte Manifesto also contains a section of quotable quotes regarding women and the superior role of men and even their sperm. A must read. Random choice snippet:

In Philippine culture, DU30 manifests as the ideal (toxic) male, depicted in so many Precious Romance pocketbooks.

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Nerisa del Carmen Guevara ON GOING NORMCORE

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Refashionista Once a loud and proud dresser, a poet-teacher decides to mellow down. Here’s why that’s not so much a concession of defeat as a statement of current intent

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arly in my teaching career, I taught at a high school, and Mrs. H was the teacher who never wore anything twice. The students took notice. So did I. We waited, every day, for her to come up the lobby stairs and into her classroom on the second floor to teach English. She was everything every student wanted to be, and probably the fulfillment of every young, aspiring teacher’s dreams: She was polished, posh, and married.

She entered the building in a cloud of flowery perfume, crisp in a linen shirt neatly ironed and starched that the collar framed her neck and clavicles like white walls of a gated community. She wore a simple white gold band on her ring finger, which glinted faintly of that forever as she moved her fingers over the air. Her face was perfect, eyeliner under those doe eyes, non-stick mascara over them, and her lipstick was never gaudy.

Whether in pants or skirt, draped in a narrow pastel pashmina shawl or in a tailored blazer, her style held the day together for all of us in the building.

And there I was, usually smoking outside the gates, leaning against the cold moss on the walls, in a job I kept after my boyfriend broke up with me before his July birthday. “You are so cool, Miss,” my students would say as they stepped off their rides.

I came to school every morning, a few hours after the last gig or party ended, with my thick, long hair like a waterfall at midnight. I never wore it up or tied it back. The lower half of my head was dyed platinum blonde, out of grief, you see, and longing. I was a skinny ghost, or angel, which kind of depended on the night before. I put out my Gudang Garam with the heel of my Camper knee-high boots that the admin mistook for shoes because I wore my skirts long and voluminous and in many indigenous patterns that the guard would sing Joey Ayala’s Magkaugnay and I would always oblige him a dance step or two before entering the gate. Before stepping into my classroom, I would adjust the malong I draped over my shoulders. My favorite malong was from Tawi-Tawi. It was a beautiful ocean of cloth in blues and reds.

“Good Morning, Class!” I would glide in with much enthusiasm and hope. “You are so cool, Miss.”

I attended the orientation meetings with coordinators, where they spoke of the dress code and distributed copies of the mimeographed list. No sleeveless shirts, no short skirts. I listened attentively. “Dress the way you teach,” they said.

That is what I did. But not the way they expected. I did try to be “business-like.” I wore the pants and blazer and felt all choked up. I even

I thought fashion was a kind of intellect; clothes and accessories were stories to be read, sometimes poems, and short songs.

GETTY IMAGES

“I do not pull woman [sic] to my face and kiss them. It’s the women who come to me with pouted lips.” In Philippine culture, DU30 manifests as the ideal (toxic) male, depicted in so many Precious Romance pocketbooks. Our president is the untherapeutically beloved bad boyfriend who cheats, abusive husband who bruises, lecherous uncle who buttfucks, perverted cousin who fingers in the dark, the male alpha bully with a “golden heart.” Simultaneously, he is the provider and protector. He scares off akyat bahay in FPJ-esque style. With bullets fired from the gun he keeps in that clutch bag. The one he tucks under his armpit while walking to the family car. He rules the family compound with an iron fist and hits on your teacher while mommy isn’t looking (and sometimes while she is). He seduces with a foul mouth, honey- and whiskey-laced to draw you in for the punch. We love him because we don’t seem to know any better. We are a nation of domestic (policy) abuse victims, doomed to the Freudian malady of “repetition compulsion.”The terms refers to a neurotic phenomenon wherein traumatic situations are repeatedly sought and lived out, in the hope that each iteration will be an opportunity to resolve past conflicts. Rational resolutions almost never happen because those who are in the compulsive cycle of repetition tend to lack the self-awareness needed to modify a traumatic outcome.

The crisis of toxic hypermasculinity in the Philippines is driven by outdated religious beliefs and the socio-cultural faith in the superiority of man over woman. Romance book titles reflect this crisis, inculcate it, drive it home deep as bones. Titles as jarring (and *sigh* funny) as Loving Mr. Extra Dangerous, The Barbaric Lover, Beloved Abductor, A Fine Specimen, My Two-Faced Mean Boyfriend, Prince Not So Charming, Hu u?, Hot Intruder and Hurts teach us to love men who are unacceptable. They teach us that love necessarily equates to searing pain and that toxicity is ok as long as it makes us laugh despite ourselves. Which might explain why Duterte holds a 91% approval rating after a long list of gaffes and atrocities, including but not limited to gleefully extrajudicial killings; foreign policy that presents the Filipino as political savage; pardoning plunderers and welcoming them into government office while imprisoning their whistleblowers; flagrantly revising history by allowing the remains of the world’s second most corrupt dictator (according to Transparency International) to be interred with honor, as a hero.

Astonishingly, frustratingly, Duterte is loved with collective abandon despite so much unacceptable behavior. The Philippines presents like a battered woman still unempowered: still hoping, still putting on a brave face for the kids, letting him hit her, thinking she deserves it, still worshipping him for everything he has made her believe she lacks. The DU30 love affair can, in this light, be considered a feminist failure. That men like him are seen as desirable should be a wake up call to all Filipinas of substance and all the sons and daughters they painstakingly raised. We must kick daddy out of the house.

A man who rules his family with the fist cannot, must never be tolerated. His baggage, filled with insufferably plaid shirts, should be left at the door. Friends and family whose vested interests make them justify his abuse, cut off. Daddy’s never going to change. He’s only going to break us in half, smiling at the neighbors while we fracture.

followed the no-smile rule put up by a coordinator who probably wasn’t fond of smiling. But I didn’t think school was a business. The first years of teaching, you try to please, and dressing according to the code was one way to do it.

When I took cognate courses in education in the College Next Door, I encountered a professor who changed all that for me. “Teach the way you learned,” she said. I fell in love with literature sitting across women beautifully swathed in indigenous fabrics and ancient beads who glided on to any platform they stepped on: Marj Evasco, Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta, Grace Nono, Luisa Igloria, and Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo. I learned my own personal practice of poetry from the aural chants of indigenous friends from my backpacking adventures. So I started coming into class like I was to sit with my friends around a dap-ay and chant the songs of the universe. I never wore sleeveless shirts, never wore short skirts. I fit the Code, but not quite in the way they thought I would. I never got any memos. Even Mrs. H had a smile for me every time we crossed paths.

I loved fashion the way I loved books, in copious amounts, that my library and closet rivaled each other for space in my bachelorette’s pad. I thought fashion was a kind of intellect; clothes and accessories were stories to be read, sometimes poems, and short songs. Indigenous

fabrics I traded for or bought from babaylan while I was a dancer for Grace Nono, sheathed my body with history and friendship. There were branded, wonderful, deconstructed creations of House of Warp, I Love You, Mich Dulce, Puey Quiñones, and other fabulous, young independent Filipino designers. I had a few staples from Dita-Sandico Ong, Patis Tesoro, and Narda.

And vintage 60s, 70s finds were all the rage from the ukay-ukay. And Camper boots, I loved Camper boots the way I hated snakes. I covered my ankles from the snakes of the world but paradoxically, I was always barefoot on the beach.

I had always thought that fashion was a way of dreaming out loud. And that was what I did.

I wore my mood on my sleeve, and in my early twenties, I was an eternal summer—bohemian, eclectic, loud, and brave—and I hung out with other eternals and elementals in the night world of Malate.

Mrs. H and I never really became friends. But I was fairly sure we held our little world together, two examples of how women dream out loud.

When I moved to University, my students said they missed me. So did Mrs. H. It has been some time since style had framed any lesson I had given. At 40, one just aims for “presentable” and the younger ones, the thinner ones, they wow even in a T-shirt and jeans. A janitor acting as elevator jockey today, a rather

quiet one all those years, finally, after pressing the button to the second floor, said, “Ma’am, mas mataba ka ngayon, ‘di katulad ng dati, naalala ko pa.” I squeezed his shoulder, the way I would a purvy cousin, and stepped off the lift with a sigh.

Did I have a right to age and work normcore? Apparently not for the secretaries at the Dean’s office, not even for the photocopier in Sampaloc’s Asturias Street. They defend their memories of me with a lot of zeal. One time, a student came up to me and said, “Miss, I have a brother who used to be your student. He said you taught in boots. Was that really you, Miss?”

Like Madonna, I evolved but kept on dreaming out loud. My newly balayaged, ombre hair in ash blonde I tuck into a bun to unfurl only on weekends. I have become a Linen Woman, minimalist and deconstructed because of my enduring love for the Japanese tea ceremony and Japanese poetry. I move from class to class in black wedges, ankles exposed, more trusting of the world, more comfortable and confident, with capes and ponchos for the cold air-con blasting through our daily lives. I still hear the occasional, “I love your attire, Miss, gusto ko niyan when I grow up.” I wear lipstick now, matte, a dark winy red like those good old Goth days but not quite.

“Good Morning, Class.”

S E P T E M B E R 2016 71

Bambina Olivares on JAIME ZOBEL and NENE LACSON • Agnes Arellano on BILLIE BONNEVIE Lena Cobangbang on KAWAYAN DE GUIA • Devi de Veyra on ALVARO PERTIERRA Joseph Pascual on DEX FERNANDEZ • Leah Puyat on RICARDO PO • Noel Manapat on PAOLO ROLDAN Pauline Juan on EMAN PINEDA • Victor Magsaysay on EDOUARD GARCIA • Kim Jones on JERICHO ROSALES

Lists of this nature tend to be fleeting at best and irrelevant at worst—anchored as they are to trends and style editors’ whims and ki hi But kinships.

B t when h they th ’re not, t they th ’re a study t d in i inspiration, i i ti of why h men even bother b th to t dress d well, ll of a man arriving i i att a point i t off view. So here are 11 men who, through their manner of dress, make us reassess ours

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Portraits by Vincent Quilop

T H E DA P P E R A R I S T O C R AT J a i m e Z o b e l d e Aya l a

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atrician in bearing and imposing in height, he certainly cut an elegant figure as the Ambassador to the Court of Saint James in the early 70s. He carried his classically styled and beautifully tailored suits with confident ease; his glasses, darkrimmed and large-framed atop his bald pate, became an unintended yet distinct trademark, giving him a dignified and avuncular air. The details were equally distinct: the silk cravat and pochette, the cufflinks and the tie clip, the dark suit and the light blazer, the stiff white collar on a crisp striped cotton shirt.

He was the perfect diplomat, dapper yet approachable, cosmopolitan and continental, a citizen of the world and a proud emissary of the Philippines. In a barong Tagalog he radiated the timeless elegance of the tropics; in a morning suit and top hat he embodied the old-world charm of the English aristocracy.

These days, retired from both the diplomatic service and corporate life, his dress code is decidedly more relaxed but never careless.

He remains an imposing figure, with a windcheater—still crisply cut—replacing the blazer, and a messenger bag slung across his body, giving this grandfather and soonto-be great-grandfather a youthful appeal. But when the occasion calls for a suit and tie, the dapper diplomat and corporate magnate re-emerge effortlessly. Silk cravat, check. Silk pochette, check. Natty navy blazer over dark wool trousers, single-breasted, second button undone, check.

Granted, his sartorial style and his demeanor hark back to another time, and reflect his undeniably privileged upbringing, very much le grand seigneur. Indeed, one may admire his innate nobility, his aristocratic carriage, his flawless elegance, and his impeccable manners, for he does possess all that. But for me, the most disarming thing about him, in all the years I’ve known him, ever since I was a young girl boldly anchoring her college thesis on the romanticism inherent in his early color photography, has always been his smile. —BAMBINA OLIVARES

S E P T E M B E R 2016 73

THE TRUE B OHEMIAN B i l ly B o n n e v i e

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magine Billy on a horse galloping down the beach, long hair streaming in the wind. That’s how he likes to feel— free. And that’s his style—unfettered cool. Easy, natural, comfortable. At home, he is always half-naked, lower torso clad in a short sarong, or fisherman pants with bottoms rolled, ending just below the knees.

Barefoot, always, except to go out wearing boots or sandals, and, always, a hat. Of his many hats, he loves the bowler from London most, and the floppy black French beret.

The hair has always been long, as far as I can remember in our 20-odd years of living la bonne vie together. The long white beard is braided, but the hair is just loose. The hair is not a “do.”

His father, who once asked him to cut it, was met with: “If they stop cutting the forest, I will cut my hair.”

Where does the style come from, you ask. Imagine Billy the Kid, this wild Aquarian, savage son of Bicol riding bareback and feeding the horses as a boy. Then walking down the streets of Paris and skiing in the Alps as a young man. Settling down as an outlaw and fugitive among the pirates of Galera. Then scaling Cleopatra’s Needle in Palawan and wearing a G-string to work with the Mangyans in the highlands of Mindoro.

Roaming the streets of Malate with the sage Pepito Bosch, shamanizing. Smoking chillums with sadhus by the Ganga in Varanasi. Dancing wildly ecstatic, gyrating to the percussive rhythms, cultural insurgents of the time, or going catlike through Yang Style’s 120 movements. From all these, and Art—erotic art—his current passion. —AGNES ARELLANO

THE HIGHLAND GUERILLA K awaya n d e G u i a

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nd it’s all yellow, which is his hair, tamed by maple and oak streaks. Chris Martin’s doppelganger from the North swaggers in ripped jeans, Oxford shirts or any shirt he might find clean that day, topping it off with some ethnic accessory like a Kalinga woven scarf or some strings of bead necklaces. A friend says that even his young artist assistants have started to dress like him, but not in a way Kawayan pulls it off. Heck, he can even dress like a hobo and still end up on the The Sartorialist. It makes me wonder why Baguio has never really been considered as a fashion spot, for its sweater weather, and its burgeoning second-hand clothing shops, and where the towering, betel nut-chewing homegrown lad epitomizes the “chill” and eclecticism of the place. Now how to sing “Yellow” in Ilocano?

—LENA COBANGBANG

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THE CHAMELE ON A lva r o P e r t i e r r a ou can’tt really pin down his signature look, but whateveer style he’s into at any particular moment, he is sure to t own it. The businessman and art collector is quite at ease loun nging around his beach house in a malong, his everyday jewelryy, a straw hat, and nothing else. On casual nights out, Alvaro might m throw a safari jacket over a plain shirt together with punkk staples—black slim jeans and heavy leather boots embellished with w metal hardware. He looks equally cool on formal nights in thee classic dandy combination—tailored blazers, crisp polo, slacks, an nd leather loafers.

“I don’t have paarameters when it comes to choosing my clothes,” he says, “itt’s sensorial, so I have to see what makes me tick and then just go for it. Unfortunately, many things make me tick, and they can be expensive or very cheap.”

He says that thee 80s New York fashion and club scene influenced his sensibilityy. “It was the time of the punk era,” he recounts, “and so, you boughtt things and made them your own. We’d tear our shirts and crop our pants. It was about individuality.”

Though adventuurous, there are a few looks he’s not drawn to.

“There’s nothing wrrong with them, they just don’t suit my personality. Like, I don’t w wear very loud prints unless I’m out of the city.

And I will never doon a baseball cap worn backwards. Nor would I wear shorts that go down to my knees with the crack of my butt showing.”

“Never,” was hiss answer when asked if there are days when he feels unsure about his h style. “The reason I can dress up like this is because I lived in New York. It’s a place where you can dress up any way you wan nt because of your anonymity. I still carry that with me.” —DEVI DE VEYRA V

THE FLEA MARKET P OET Dex Fernandez

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ex Fernandez is already dancing when you arrive. He is always perpetually hidden by a violent mop of hair and dark, circular glasses. You may see his eyes about three months after you first meet. (A lull in his dancing will let you tap his shoulder without injury, and Dex will turn and say hi.)

His clothes, however, introduce themselves. An assortment of equally cuffed skinny jeans and slouchy slacks tell you of his possible #FreeTheAnkle advocacy. Cut-up T-shirts tell you that he cares about ventilation. Most important, the collection of heavy black boots suggests that barefoot, he would shoot into outer space.

The sense of something barely contained unites his work and his style.

Best known for the crawling, oddly human Garapata found tagged onto walls or stuck onto bus seats, Dex’s work goes beyond individual, unsettlingly friendly insects (all of whom resemble friends of his, but with nice shoes). Crawling onto entire gallery walls, murals from his 1000000000 mg exhibit teem with an acid trip of disembodied body parts, deep sea creatures, and swarms of eyes that blink and shudder in the black light. An undersea Petri dish of newly sentient plant life greets you in B/W/TPE. In a submission to the 10th Romeo Forbes Storytelling Competition in 2015, the creatures dance off of the walls and onto a photograph engulfing but never quite overwhelming it. Which is exactly what Dex does even on an empty dance floor. —JOSEPH PASCUAL

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THE B O N V I VA N T E d ua r d o “ N e n e ” L a c s o n

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ven before I met him, Eduardo “Nene” Lacson was already a legend. In the hedonistic Paris of the 70s, he was the epitome of chic: urbane, witty, sophisticated, charming. By the time I moved to Paris in the mid-80s, he had already decamped for the even more glamorous enclave of Monte Carlo, with an apartment along the elegant Avenue de Grande Bretagne.

He came to my 21st birthday dinner at Aux Iles Philippines in the Rue Laplace, wearing a crisp white shirt and white trousers, the white ensemble definitely summery and chic, a striking contrast against his deeply tanned skin.

His look has changed very little since then, and remains a mix of preppy elements with a resort vibe, an exercise in studied nonchalance. There’s the button-down shirt or the Breton striped shirt, the sports jacket or the pea coat, the board shorts or the smart trousers. Then there’s the cardigan or pullover draped across the shoulders, its sleeves knotted casually over the chest, or the cashmere wrap draped over the body and flung about the neck.

And the signature touch, the hat. There’s always a hat—a baseball cap, a Borsalino, a guayabera, a beanie—a final flourish that adapts to the locale he finds himself in, be it the Cote d’Azur, Ibiza, the Greek isles, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Lima, Bali, or Manila. —BAMBINA OLIVARES 76 S E P T E M B E R 2016

T H E C A S UA L CHARMER Ricardo Po

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e never dons anything that will call attention to himself. In fact, a quick glance at his photos in magazine party pages might make one say, “There really is no big deal about how he dresses.” At first sight, yes, the pieces may seem unremarkable. A white polo shirt. A navy shortsleeved knit pullover. A black suit. But it always looks right, only enhancing that magnetic appeal that never really leaves him. The collar on the white shirt is just a little stiffer, wider, and there may be little buttonholes with red stitching on them. The navy pullover is just that right blend of a classic and a timely statement. The black suit is paired with a perfect white shirt, no tie—at a business event where everyone is in cookie-cutter non-statements.

Is it the artlessly disheveled wavy hair? Or is it the slim-butnever-too-tight cut of his clothes? An old, rather snooty Spanish saying goes: “For those not born to it, they never know where to put their backside.” So is it as simple as he was born to privilege and position? And then he goes off to Boston for university, capital and spiritual home of preppies everywhere, and then imbibes the timeless and effortless way of adapting classics every season.

At a magazine shoot long ago, as the work was winding down, he casually walked in and greeted everyone on set, and it struck me how he really made it a point to say hello to all those involved, and to make them feel at home. He does the same when he runs into you, whether at a favorite restaurant or a huge social event. He can make people feel at ease, as he himself is so at ease with himself, as if on a long, well-deserved holiday. —LEAH PUYAT

T H E F L A M B OYA N T S T R E E T WA R R I O R Pa o l o R o l da n

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he last time I met Paolo Roldan was during New York Men’s Fashion Week where we worked together for the Bench Body x Cadet campaign. In the succeeding days, he arrived for one dinner wearing a full-print red, black, and white ankle-length kimono, white tank top pinned with assorted Navajo clips and brooches, and the insouciance of torn jeans and worn-out boxer boots. The next dinner, he wore a matching pinstripe shirt and loose pants, a pair he scored from a collector who had the wardrobe estate of a man from the 1920s.

His personal style has been a well-documented street-style obsession for many, to quote an article in Vogue.com. Indeed, his style ticks off all the boxes that make for a great street snap— clothes with visual impact, interesting credits, worn by a shaved, lean and ripped, smoking-hot supermodel with a cigarette in hand.

But what separates Paolo Roldan from the rest lies in his love for the art of fashion. He is not just the mannequin who walks for the runways of his fashion families such as Givenchy, Phillip Lim, and Armani. He walks the street with the steadfastness of a man on a mission—to showcase pieces made from the now lost crafts, rare gems that he scours from his kindred purveyors of vintage shops, all well-made articles of clothing with stories to tell. Such legends live in the style of this man. —NOEL MANAPAT

THE STUBB ORN U T I L I TA R I A N E m a n P i n e da

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man Pineda is an anomaly in the world of fashion, where everything is about image, and, perhaps more important, how you are able to get that image across. The famously press-shy Pineda does not give interviews, pivots away when someone is taking a picture, and eschews celebrity endorsers for his brands. Dressed perennially in his beloved black and white, the retailer sports a uniform of sorts in the impeccably tailored, anonymous-looking button-downs and trousers that, God forbid, call attention to themselves—or to him. His look is not about being the most expensive (although the relaxed minimalism of his clothes keeps one guessing if they are French or Scandinavian); rather, it is distilling down to the most essential. Nowhere is his style philosophy more evident, though, than in his five-year-old fashion label harlan + holden, which offers timeless, pared-down basics. The brand recently launched its line of slip-on sneakers, called Caminos, and invited Jeremy Langmead, the brand and content director of Mr Porter, and Caroline Issa, a magazine publisher and editor and a perennial street style favorite, along with local influencers Liz Uy, Tim Yap, Kim Jones, Mark Nicdao, and Monica Zobel to trek Bhutan and put the Caminos to the ultimate test.

As expected, Pineda’s presence in the coverage was felt rather than seen: Amidst the stunning mountain terrain, ancient temples and monasteries, the shoes were all about function. Like Pineda, who wears a white pair on a daily basis, they are simple, modern, refined, utilitarian. —PAULINE JUAN S E P T E M B E R 2016 77

THE S U P R E M LY FA B U L O U E d o ua r d G a r i a

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e is your regular orian Gray. My favorite outfit of his is the gold brocade ensemble he wore to his wedding an orange tie around his neck and tucked into a floral vest. His style is a mix of dandy and androgynous— in a La Cage aux Folles manner.

A juxtaposition of utility and the theatrical. He is always so incredibly put together, whether he is turning heads in the streets of Paris just wearing something summery like a striped shirt with a teal sweater thrown over his shoulders, or wearing his more solid pieces when in Manila. Dressing up for him is not just covering one’s self but an effort to keep boredom at bay.

Edouard is thematic when building his daily outfits, and always only a touch too much. —VICTOR M GSAYSAY

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THE REBEL WITH A CA AU S E Jericho Rosales e’s a man m fascinated with the 50s and 60s. The inspirration is obvious in his wardrobe in aall its wide-lapelled, double-breasted glory. It’s also in that decade-old hat th hat miraculously ends up back on his hat tree despite my persistent eff fforts to get rid of it.

It’s apparent in much of his lifestyle, too. His closet is quite simply the well-p preserved product of the life he lives. His indirect middle of the century homage to the m past is evident in the classic longboards he surfs on, the vinyls he plays, the motorbbikes he rides, and the barbershop he h once dreamed of w owns. It’s in that opening and now hair of his that iss its own wonderful, bouncing entity.

Despite beingg so unequivocally inspired by those decades, he’s also the man that leaves a personal stamp on every loook he wears and hat makes his style it’s this quality th so individual. I don’t mean simply cuffing his chinos; it’s more intimate, more imaginativee than that. After scribbling down notes on a brown paper menu in a restaurant, he will proceed to fold itt up, the way you would a pocket square, and insert it into his shirt’s ch hest pocket, which he will continue to wear for the remainder of the dinner, oblivious to any attention it m may receive. Every look is purposefu ul and practical but so proudly Echo, E as seen in his wounded shirts that t he defiantly refuses to stop wearing, or the penmanship left on his Converse Chucks, the scuff ff on only the left of all his boots (p put there by gear changes on his D Ducati Scrambler).

His style isn’t pretentious or accessible or tren ndy. It’s just him, unique and full of o stories, full of character. —KIM J ONES

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BONG DAZA

TH E L I FE A ND G OOD TI M E S OF

BEFOR E HE WA S A R ESTAUR ATEUR , HUSBA ND OF MISS UNI V ER SE , A ND DA D TO A N “IT ” GIR L , BONG DA ZA WA S A R ENOW NED PR A NK STER , PA RT Y A NIM A L , A ND WA R M, GENEROUS FR IEND. IN THIS R ETROSPECTI V E , LONGTIME BUDDY A ND FELLOW EPICUR E EDV EE CRUZ GI V ES US A FIR STH A ND ACCOUNT OF JUST HOW FUN LIFE COULD GET W ITH THE OTHER PHILIPPINE A MBA SSA DOR TO PA R IS HOLDING COURT

he most popular term for Gabriel “Bong” Daza III among people who knew him—and they were legion—was bon vivant. Literally, “a person living well,” it also connotes a social life associated with exquisite wine, gourmet food, fine clothing, and with Bong one could include attractive women.

I met Bong more than half a century ago at the Ateneo de Manila, first when we were both fi five years of age in class Prep-D, and again in grades 6 and 7. Even then, he already was someone who could make the entire class laugh. Coincidentally, so could I, which is probably what established the affinity between us. That, and knowing that our parents were good friends. But our deep, long lasting friendship came afterwards, when our paths crossed again 13 years later.

In the summer of 1970, my family moved to Bonn, the provisional capital of West Germany, and the latest post assigned to my father, the late Ambassador JV Cruz. Shortly after arriving, I learned from my mother that Bong’s arrival in Paris was in the offing. I managed to hook up with him by phone and invited him to join us at the Costa Brava villa in northern Spain that my parents had rented for the whole of that coming August. A Filipino in Europe, and a former classmate at that, was definitely a sight for sore eyes, a rare occurrence in the days before the tsunami of OFWs hit the shores of Western Europe. (As for Filipino tourists, they were more inclined to visit the United States than tour the Old World.)

It was a great month at the Costa Brava, even if I totaled the car the night before our last day. On the train ride back to Germany, I wondered why Bong didn’t show. It was only later that I learned that he had taken the train from Paris, arrived at the gates of the villa we had just vacated, and was told by the gardener that we had left just minutes earlier.

Up to this day, I don’t know how he got the dates confused. Over the years, that incident has been exaggerated at every re-telling, becoming a source of more laughter. It would not be until another fi five years that we would finally reunite. From then on, we remained in close touch, notwithstanding our respective personal vicissitudes, as great friends in a lifelong friendship.

One can imagine the amount of laughter we elicited from each other in all the time that we spent together as adults. We would sometimes laugh till we were in tears and our stomachs hurt, begging each other to stop.

But as we all know, suppressed laughter builds up inside and comes out in a burst. At times, that burst would be accompanied by a spray, because Bong would time the punchline of a joke to coincide with my sip of water or wine. In public or, worse, in a formal setting, that could be embarrassing.

But that was the whole point of it, the goal! And I would get my revenge months later when he had hopefully forgotten the game.

This went on for more than 30 years! We behaved more childishly as adults than when we were classmates in grade school, even as senior citizens. The last few times we laughed that hard, we were actually worried we might get a heart attack, which only made the whole situation more ridiculous. We also laughed at things decent and respectable people were not supposed to laugh at, as if to affirm a dictum we shared, that in the context of humor, nothing was holy.

I WAS BACK IN PARIS AND EN-ROUTE TO LONDON FIVE YEARS

after the Costa Brava non-reunion. Of course, I attempted to meet up with Bong. By this time, I had heard people from Manila speak of him. What they described was far from the image I had of him in my head, which was based on my memory of my classmate in grade 7: short, and with big ears, for which we teased him as “wabbit.”

I later saw a recent picture of him and understood why many a ladies had the hots for him. The “wabbit” I used to know had transformed into a taller, debonair, rather handsome, and well built chap.

In Paris, Bong’s smile as he welcomed me to his restaurant was as friendly and warm as could be. He sat me down, and handed me the menu as he continued preparing the restaurant for its evening diners.

The restaurant was already three or four years operational, and by that time was well established in Paris. In that city of lights and gastronomes, that was no small achievement. Called Aux Iles Philippines, the restaurant was given Three Forks by the Guide Michelin, an impossibility for a Filipino restaurant, many had said, until Nora Daza proved them wrong.

Aux Iles counted among its regular guests movie stars Brigitte Bardot 82 S E P T E M B E R 2016

and Catherine Deneuve; Serge Gainsbourg; Mansour Ojeh, owner of the Tag Heuer F1 team; tennis star Ilie Nastasse; Vogue, Mademoiselle, and Elle models, including Filipina supermodel and Givenchy favorite Tetta Agustin; philosopher Simone de Beauvoir; Filipino artist Nena Saguil; Paris disco owners; and his bosom buddy Bongbong “Bonget” Marcos, son of the Philippine President.

By the time of my visit, Nora Daza had passed on the baton to Bong, who was by then fluent in French. Personable and gregarious as he was, Bong ran the show and did not disappoint. With his natural charm, he would personally serve his regulars not just the food they ordered. Bong gave them a total dining experience consisting of the restaurant’s delicious exotic dishes served with a platter of witty conversation, and a bowl of laughter sprinkled with good feelings with enough left to go. This made them come back for more.

THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THAT HE LIVED THERE, A STREAM OF

friends would drop by the Aux Ile. If they were close enough, Bong would let them shack up with him for the duration of their stay in the city, at the apartment above the restaurant where he and brother Sandy lived.

The Dazas, Bong more so because he was more of a party animal than Sandy, had built a reputation for being the key to experiencing the best of the Paris nightlife, the club scene in particular. He was a VIP at exclusive clubs, and being with him assured that you got the red carpet welcome as well. Bong was often seen with beautiful women, both Filipinas and Parisians. His favorite was Club Privé, the equivalent of Studio 54 in New York, or Tramp and Annabel’s in London. Bong typified the “work hard,

B.D. WAS HERE

Paris was Bong Daza's playground in the 1970s when he was tasked to take over the family restaurant in the City of Lights. Clockwise, from left: The Avenue de Champs-Elysees in the 8th Arrondissement, 1970; Vogue and Cosmopolitan models at Aux Iles Philippines; Christian Courtin-Clarins, president and CEO of the cosmetics giant Clarins, with his first wife, Corinne, at a party at Daza's restaurant in the 70s; the trailblazing Aux Iles Philippines in 17 Rue Laplace, near the Pantheon ("It was in the 5th Arrondissement," Nora Daza once told Rogue. "It even had an outdoor garden—very rare in Paris—which people loved."); at a New Year's eve party with the New Minstrels performing, and having drinks with Greggy Araneta, Bing Magpayo (pouring a drink), and Iñigo Zobel.

Opposite: B.D. channeling his idol Bruce Lee. Previous spread: Daza in Thoirey, France, a favorite picnic place of Filipinos.

COOL AND THE GANG

Whether in France or the Philippines, Daza was always surrounded by a bunch of people who, like him, knew exactly how to have a good time. Clockwise, from top left: The beaches of the Cote d'Azur in the South of France, which he frequented with Filipino friends from Paris and London; having a blast at the presidential yacht Ang Pangulo with close friend Bongbong Marcos (with a lady on his lap); guesting in Elvira Manahan's talk show Two For The Road with Butz Aquino (to Daza's left), Johnny Litton, and Bert "Tawa" Marcelo; with Marcos and Gina Tabuena-Godinez (second lady from left); with friend Philip Cu-Unjieng (in shirt) and brother Sandy Daza in the French Riviera. Opposite: At the Hilton in Paris, with Louie Ysmael and IĂąigo Zobel.

He pecked me on the cheek and said, “I'll see you back in the flat babe . . . don’t take too long now,” as he winked at the Arab. play hard” single male womanizer of that milieu and held his own in arguably the world’s most sophisticated city, certainly, the fashion capital of the world and, you might say, the perfect “playground” for a bon vivant.

Some had taken to calling him “Bong Vivant”.

He was a frequent traveler, too, spending summers in St. Tropez or ff to other cities in Europe, including London the Swiss Alps, or flying off where he would sometimes stay with me or Bonget. This was during the years Bonget was in college at Oxford, while Philip Cu-Unjieng, another of Bong’s friends, was pursuing a degree at Cambridge. My brother, Monch, had become good friends with Bong around that time, too, while attending an American College outside of London. As for myself, I was learning the craft of filmmaking at the London International Film School together with Jun Reyes and Marilou Diaz Abaya.

Other Filipino friends who were in Europe at the time included Maurice Arcache, who was “all over the place” but eventually based himself in The Hague; Niña Romualdez and Marissa Araneta in Madrid; Nene Lacson in Monte Carlo; in Paris itself, the Carmona sisters Annie and Loudette, who both eventually married Frenchmen; and finally, Boy and Cora Padiernos, who stayed on even after Bong had relocated back to Manila. There were plenty of others who came in and out of Aux Ile, with their own half-remembered stories, all grateful to Bong for his hospitality.

I once visited Bong’s restaurant at the same time Ricky Avanceña was in Paris, visiting from his home base in Barcelona. Many years later, we tried to reminisce about that stay, but were astonished at how little we remembered. It had been a wild two or three days—mostly nights—of unrestrained wanton indulgence.

Those were good times for Filipinos in Europe. There were still few of us on the continent then, and only just beginning to be recognized by the locals for our dual nature—eastern but westernized—and for our beautiful brown color. But it was to Bong Daza that Paris belonged. And to Aux Ile Philippines, the monicker “the other Philippine Embassy” was most fitting.

One story Bong loved to tell in my presence was of the time he visited me in San Francisco. On one nippy afternoon, he asked me to join him in the building’s communal sauna bath. I did follow, and found him inside talking to an Arab whom he had just befriended. He introduced me, and I joined in the small talk. After a short while, Bong excused himself, saying he would be heading back to my flat. But before leaving, he came up to

me unexpectedly—I could sense a hint of mischief. He pecked me on the cheek and said, “I’ll see you back in the flat babe...don’t take too long now” as he winked at the Arab. So there I was, alone with the Arab, practically naked in San Francisco, the gay capital of the world. I glanced at the gentleman, who was by then staring at me, suspiciously, not to mention belligerently. I hurriedly left and, upon entering my flat, found Bong practically rolling on the floor. He pointed at me as he laughed his ass off He also liked to recall the time we were drunk in his room in the wee hours of the morning, just the both of us, each with a microphone, singing—or at least our idea of singing. Sandy later entered, stealthily and with his gun drawn, alarmed by the awful shrill we were making.

BONG LATER RELOCATED TO MANILA. HE MARRIED FORMER MISS

Universe Gloria Diaz when he was in his late thirties. Though the marriage did not last, they remained not just friends but the best of friends till the very end. They were parents to three children, one of whom is my goddaughter, in the same manner Bong is ninongg to my daughter.

Bong Daza passed away, eerily, but likewise fittingly, on Bastille Day, the French National Day, after more than a week in comatose. After a dizzying hour or so of shock and disbelief upon learning of his slip into comatose, I fell back to sleep. During that short nap, I had a vivid dream.

In it, he came to visit me in the room where I lay asleep, and before I knew it, we were having a spirited (pun intended) pillow fight that ended in laughter. With just the wave of his hand, he magically cleaned up the mess our little joust had created and in a split second, swished away and was gone. Did he astral travel while his body lay in a coma?

It was the generosity inherent in Bong, sometimes to a fault, that made him reach out whenever he could be of help to his friends. And friends he had plenty of, from his childhood buddies in the UP community that he grew up in, to those he made in the myriad circles he socialized in, friends of various nationalities that he made in the many years that he lived abroad. Beneath the fun and the laughter, the public persona, and being the “life of the party,” was a good person, transparent, lovable, with a simple and childlike side to him. Bong could be happy just being among a few friends, in private, singing his heart out, exchanging funny stories, reminiscing, and laughing themselves silly. He is missed by many, certainly by me.

S E P T E M B E R 2016 85

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photographed by mark nicdao / art directed by miguel lugtu

Natalia Zobel has spent the past few years strategically avoiding the spotlight—if she's going to get any press, it won't be for her beauty or pedigree, but for her work. Andrea Ang reveals the woman behind Lanai, the lifestyle boutique that showcases the belladona’s aesthetic upbringing, and how her personal philosophies are coming to fruition now

Natalia Zobel doesn’t want any of it: this cover, this interview, and least of all me, trying to condense her into a word count that everyone involved will be happy with.

The 24-year-old has evaded the spotlight constantly following the Zobel name, save for one instance. The last time she was splashed onto covers, 10-page spreads, or banner stories was for the 2009 Le Bal des Debutantes, when she was debuted at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris alongside Francesca Eastwood, Autumn Whitaker, and many a royal cousin or two. Before that, she was a mystery. After, she was constantly at the back of editors’ minds, waiting for the day that they could put her back on those same covers, spreads, banners.

That reason arrived not too long ago, with the launch of Lanai last July.

Housed at The Alley at Karrevin, Lanai is a multi-level, multi-concept lifestyle boutique created in tandem with Natalia’s older sister Bianca Zobel and floral maestro Maria Parsons, under one very simple directive: to bring in their favorite things.

Can we talk about that instead?

“SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL.” I hear it again and again, varying only in

degrees of emphasis. So beautiful. So beautiful. So beautiful.

Natalia Zobel is, for sure. But right now, I don’t think that’s what she or I want her to be. Our cover shoot crew begins throwing out hypothetical campaign offers—a bunch of what ifs, seeing which one she would say yes to. “Chanel,” someone calls out. “Or Dior.” “She’d be great for a perfume ad.”

“How about Lancôme?”

She doesn’t bite. Call it intuition, call it projection, but Natalia Zobel seems much more concerned with other things: She wants to see her ideas come to life. She wants to be constantly involved in things, constantly doing something that’s part of a bigger picture. She wants to be compelling more than she is beautiful (and if the yaysayers are to be consulted, that’s an incredibly tall order).

There is one thing about herself, though, that she is immediately forthcoming about: music. LCD Soundsystem, The Arcade Fire, The Foals, Joy Division, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy and the Stones, Jaime Jones—the Boston College graduate majored in marketing and business, and spent one of two internships at Sony Music as a marketing associate. “I worked on all different kinds of music. My first project was to make their website,” she explains. “I had to learn about pianists, jazz players, blues players—learn their style, [then] write about it.”

The biggest challenge was Sony’s focus on EDM, the so-called music

88 S E P T E M B E R 2016

genre for millennials, mostly because her own EDM phase passed in high school. “[There was] ‘progressive house,’ or ‘garage disco,’ or ‘garage house.’

But it was fun! Since I love music so much, it was like coming back to an old friend.”

After an internship with Sony, she veered toward a more purist approach to marketing with big McCann Erickson accounts like Jose Cuervo and Subway, in transatlantic parallel with the firm’s London counterpart. Soon though, her time was up: “I didn’t even apply [for my visa],” she laughs. “I knew home was the right place to be.”

Unlike others who come home from a few years abroad, Natalia isn’t lost in a bubble of what could’ve been. Instead, coming home for Nats meant looking at what was happening in Manila, seeing what was here, and becoming immediately enthralled in the possibilities. “My ADD kicked in. I was like, ‘Damn, where do I focus?’”

One recipient of that focus ended up being MindBench, a full-spectrum agency that does advertising, marketing, and PR on a per project basis.

Founded by a group of friends and relatives, it was a conscious decision to pursue her academic focus of marketing without diving too deep into corporate life.

The other recipient is, of course, Lanai. Maria Parsons explains that Lanai actually began because they wanted to do events—it came naturally after working together on the weddings of Natalia and Bianca’s brother Jake, and Bianca’s own much-talked-about nuptials at their hacienda in Batangas.

(The massive Laguna-made kapis lamps designed and brought to life by Natalia and Bianca’s mother Maricris Zobel for Bianca’s wedding actually hang on Lanai’s second floor, available for order.) Lanai as a boutique has become a sort of living, breathing portfolio for those interested in their philosophy, look, and style. “We wanted to get our name out there first,” Parsons elaborates. “We wanted it to really be a concept store, so the home store was a given. But then with my background in the flowers and [because] we worked together on a couple of their weddings, we decided, yeah, let’s put up a small flower shop and see how it goes. We opened for Mother’s Day, just on a whim—no Instagram—with very, very little word out—and we did fairly well.”

Lanai, now, boasts of elements of the eclectic mind, via Casa, Ropa, Café, and Flores—that is, impossibly chic homeware, vacation-ready clothes, a small café spanning the length of a dining table, and a flower shop that flies in incredible blooms everyday from the Netherlands. The word for it is decadent, in true indulgence of a life very, very well lived—which makes

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sense, because the three women who thought of it were influenced by nostalgia and old glamour. “We curate items that aren’t so commonly used anymore. We’re really trying to bring back that old sort of glamour, which is much more our style, as compared to current, more modern trends,” Natalia explains, pointing to engraving and personalization as key elements in their brand. “Refound” objects like little silver jewelry boxes with engraved initials, a set of small shell-like ashtrays meant to be distributed per person, a small sterling silver handbell, and elegant desk pieces are lifelines to fond memories. “I think [Bianca, Maria, and myself ] are all different old souls.

[There’s that] longing for nostalgia, like for the things that we saw at our grandparents’ houses, and then seeing it less and less as the years go on.”

Lanai is in prime position to bring Manila back to its aesthetic glory days, harking to a time when French couture houses would jump to immediately make their salon designs available on Escolta. Instead of choosing a hypermodern, almost Scandinavian minimalism that pares down details, Lanai focuses on taking care of our history, while at the same time moving forward. “It’s a pursuit of new nostalgia, marrying old grace with new trends,” explains Natalia.

This involves one very important thing: instead of bowing to a European sensibility, Lanai aims to glamourize the Filipino. As a people, we’re constantly looking for an identity in our design that is Filipino, one apart from the “melting pot” cliché that has been attached to us by too many history books, and one that we can own completely, totally, unquestionably.

Natalia herself emphasizes the importance of the Filipino touch in all that they do, local craftsmanship an important part of their DNA as a brand. (It only adds to her likeability when she calls herself Filipino first and foremost—“with Spanish heritage” is only an addendum, despite her brown waves and bottle green eyes.) To her, there is so much beauty to be drawn from a traditional Filipino house, and many design elements to take note of that marry aesthetics and functionality without compromise. “[We’re] just staying true to our culture. At the end of the day, it’s really Filipino culture that we wanted to bring through Lanai, mixed with some foreign styles.”

THROUGHOUT OUR CONVERSATIONS, Natalia has been hesitant to talk more about herself, but for anyone looking for a story, walking into Lanai is one in itself: standing inside will help divulge the minds and psychology of these three women in a picture better painted than words.

These very direct links to their history and their memories, these moments that had a hand in shaping their tastes, ideals, and sensibilities are more revealing than any interview could hope to achieve.

Even their grasp of design terminology and spatial intuition comes from a more personal narrative: Parsons learned her trade as a floral specialist from her mother, Toni, who has been called “the high priestess” of flora and fauna by fans and press alike. Natalia and Bianca, meanwhile, found it natural to be so attuned to what they are seeing because of their parents.

“Our parents were very vocal about styles they liked or aesthetics,” Natalia explains. “My dad would always point out, ‘Oh, look at that texture with the wood.’ In our travels or even just here, he would always point out certain things that we saw were beautiful.”

94 S E P T E M B E R 2016

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EVE THE LABEL SLIP DRESS, STOCKTON ROW EARRINGS FROM CURA V, LANAI TABLEWARE, BLOOMS, AND MARBLE ASHTRAY

This exposure to art began in the family, including her great-uncle, the modernist Fernando Zobel. It is, however, from her father's grandmother Rocio Urquijo, an abstract artist with courageous use of color, Natalia learned how to play with hues and shades: “Color is what really defines taste in a house—being able to hold color but also being able to pull back the reins when using it. We apply this same playfulness and restraint at Lanai.”

This shared appreciation for beautiful things is an obsession among the Lanai women. “We just geek out to it. And now that we’re customizing designs, we’re gearing our home items in a way that is both timeless and practical.”

Believe them when they say that everything in Lanai, they would easily love to see adorn their homes, hands, feet, even earlobes—Natalia’s own nook in her parents’ home is just a slight more bohemian than the dramatic façade of Lanai. “My rug is a banig, and then I have [another] rug on top of it with all kinds of colors. I have a natural element that’s very colorful,” she shares. “And lots of hand-me-downs, like an old leather sofa that my parents didn’t want anymore that I snatched. My lights are like a big kapis bowl, which we’re actually going to be making our own designs of for Christmas.”

This level of unapologetic geekery over the seemingly random or mundane seems to be what brings Natalia to new opportunities. Inspired by travel and her own experiences and memories, ideas are constantly jonesing to take up prime real estate in her mind. Her ADD is still giving her a kick, but she’s managing it gracefully, spearheading a host of collaborations and products, including pajama sets and elegant nighties, marble elements for bathrooms and tocadors, Art Deco-style bar trolleys, and accent side tables.

Just today, they’re unwrapping different boxes that have arrived: hammocks from Colombia, and espadrilles from Great Women, both of which will most likely sell out soon, as has the rest of their inventory. “It’s a good problem,” laughs Parsons.

LANAI BEGAN, as Parsons explained, as an events concierge of sorts, so

it seems befitting that Natalia answer this one last question: If you were to throw a party with anyone in history, or with anyone in the world, who would it be with and how would you design it?

“Probably on the floor, with cushions and on a beautiful, rustic banig,” Natalia says almost immediately. (I somberly note that she seems more excited to answer this than any question I have asked so far, a stream of “definitelys” that I hadn’t heard prior.) “Definitely no shoes! Definitely in a garden setting or in a balcony, with nice lighting—candles, a mixture of lanterns, kapis hanging. I like hanging lighting but also some floor lighting. Definitely at night, like sunset or nighttime. Definitely on a balcony, with a nice view. Definitely very comfortable. You’d have to be in loungewear, you know? Semi-pajamas. Like, appropriate-esque, but really I’m wearing pajamas.”

The vibe is more bohemian, a marriage of Moroccan and Filipino elements. A key component here being scent, as a way to set the tone of the entire shindig—this one in particular is the Max Benjamin candle ‘Portofino,’ which is quickly dwindling in stock at Lanai. “I have no idea what’s in it,” laughs Natalia. “It’s just clean, it’s fresh, it’s warm. It’s really an amazing scent. And I think there really has to be food available at this situation. Something fried and something sweet. For drinks, you’d always have to have an option of a cocktail, like a sangria… and then a mix of San Miguel beers. And water!”

As we run down the final details of her fantasy dinner party, it’s clear what Natalia’s philosophy is and how it translates to Lanai. As opposed to any society names, at the top of her dream guestlist is Jimi Hendrix, whom she considers one of the most uncensored, rawest artists. “I’d want to know what the 70s were like, and the world that I had always dreamt of,” she gushes. “I feel like he’d speak to me in poetry. I feel like artists do that—bring different parallels that I never would have had. And… I’m such a big fan.” Authenticity prefaces any design preference, and it’s the only precedence she sets for coming together in a comfortable and cozy setting.

Natalia, with Bianca and Maria, has unknowingly become one of Manila’s silent tastemakers, by creating something so few have and even fewer can manufacture: a damn good time.

S E P T E M B E R 2016 99

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MARYLOU PRIETO-LOVINA

ISLAND In the early 70s, Slim Aarons, photographer to the international jet set, was in the Philippines to capture a slice of its brief affair with decadence. Jerome Gomez meets Marylou Prieto, who starred in the photographer’s portraits at Beni Toda’s private island, Hermana Mayor, but barely remembers the man who took her pictures

I

t’s unfortunate that I don’t remember him from the island, even with those pictures. Maybe because it was a long time ago. I must have been about 27 years old during that time.” Marylou Prieto, sitting in her white living room sofa like she will never leave it, is talking about Slim Aarons, the war photographer turned chronicler of the jet set who, at his peak, was allowed access to the most exclusive parties of the world’s most glamorous. Prieto

remembers meeting him, yes, but him taking the photographs in these pages? Of her? Her memory, she admits, doesn’t work as it used to. She is now 71, and she is being asked about something that happened 43 years ago. “I don’t remember him in the island Hermana Mayor,” she tells me, referring to that sybaritic refuge off Zambales owned by the high-living Benigno Toda, then the president of Philippine Airlines.

I came to visit Prieto to put a story behind the Aarons pictures we’ve S E P T E M B E R 2016 101

CHONA KASTEN

PRIETO REMEMBERS MEETING AARONS LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY, IN SOME GATHERING AT HER PARENTS’ HOME IN FORBES PARK. “HE SAID, ‘I LIKE YOUR DRESS.’ HE GAVE ME A BRACELET FROM AFRICA.” always wanted to put on Rogue’s pages. Pictures of beautiful people frolicking in the Hermana Mayor shore, dated February 1973, in the stock photo site Getty Images. Bengy Toda, the photographer who runs Studio 58 in Makati, son of the departed Benigno, was studying abroad at the time the pictures were taken, and is only able to be of help by identifying some of the personalities in them. There’s Prieto in a striped two-piece, ensconced in a suspended shell smiling. Beside her is the tall and handsome Iñaki Ugarte. In another photo, there’s someone who looks terribly like the socialite Chona Kasten, holding an umbrella, the mountainous terrain of Zambales hinting at its gorgeousness behind her—but the younger Toda hesitates to confirm. He suggests we get in touch with his late dad’s partner, Conchita Simo, and we tried but never got any response. Kasten’s daughter, Techie Ysmael Bilbao, would confirm to us that, yes, the woman in the picture is her mother.

In 1973, Aarons, while still in the Philippines, also photographed then First Couple Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, resulting in some of the twosome’s most glamorous pictures. One image in particular sticks to mind: he in a scarf-print beachwear of matching shirt and pants, while she stands behind him, fussing on her bun, wearing a revealing black lace swimsuit under a white bolero, gazing at the world with Yoko Ono glasses, the natural light giving her skin the effect of alabaster. The light 102 S E P T E M B E R 2016

and the outfits suggest they are near some body of water—like many of the subjects of Aarons’ pictures—oblivious to the rest of the world (the pictures were taken two months after FM declared Martial Law, if Getty is to be believed), a couple just being attractive people doing attractive things—just like that famous Aarons quote. The photograph appears when you type “slim aarons philippines” in Getty Images and click search. This and other Apo and Madam pictures: of him extending his hand in a reception line at a state dinner in Malacañang, of her in Nayong Pilipino, for once holding her own umbrella, with a fake Mayon volcano behind her.

Apart from the Marcos pictures, the photos from Hermana Mayor would appear, too, featuring a bunch of beautiful people indulging in a favorite diversion in many an Aarons image: baking under the sun. Or to make it more period-apropos, sun-tanning (a bronzed body was a status symbol in those days, proof that one lived a life of leisure). Toda’s paradise-like property, the “fantasy island,” dubbed thus no doubt because of its beauty and the multiple pleasures it affords its select visitors, has been compared to Capri and the African savannah. It is a 1,200-acre oasis that’s a short Learjet ride away from Toda’s private hangar in Manila.

Toda was known to be a fantastic entertainer, and he had brought many international celebrities to the island—Julio Iglesias, Conrad Hilton, Ronald Reagan, even King Juan Carlos of Spain, spoiling them silly with

A PLACE IN THE SUN

Slim Aarons photographing film starlet Mara Lane at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, 1954. The photographer was famous for capturing parties of the rich and famous, especially those happening near beaches and swimming pools. Opposite: Chona Kasten in Hermana Mayor, 1973. Behind her, Marylou Prieto and other guests of tycoon Benigno Toda. Prieto remembers Aarons as a very congenial person.

every available amusement.

The Aarons pictures taken in Hermana that appear in Getty are uniformly identified thus: “Guests relax on the beach of a private island owned by Philippine Airlines President, Benigno Toda Jr.” Except for the photograph of Prieto inside the main house, which is mistakenly captioned: “Mary Lau Toda’s private island in the Philippines.” In this photo, Prieto is standing regally in the middle of the sawali and bamboo living room of the main house in Hermana Mayor, wearing a printed long dress, surrounded by bougainvilleas and fish trophies, a couple of family crests hanging on the wall behind her. Prieto, in the photograph, appears to be looking at the camera—but she doesn’t remember having posed for this picture. She recognizes herself, yes, but doesn’t remember a photographer in the island, much less Aarons, who she had already previously met.

In fact, she remembers meeting the photographer like it was yesterday, in some gathering in her parents’ house in Forbes Park (her mother is the impossibly regal socialite Mary Prieto). “He said, ‘I like your dress.’ I said, ‘Thank you,’” she tells me while she cups a gathered strand of puka shells between her hands. “He gave me a bracelet that was called a grigri from Africa, made out of leather. And on top of it was like a square, and poised on top of the square was a shell, just like this”—and then she raises the shells her hands have been nursing since I entered the room. “I remember

it very well, and I’m very sorry that I lost that bracelet because I liked it very much and it was very unique.”

Aarons, she says, was a “tall, tall man. Slim!” Prieto adds, this time referring to his figure. “And he was very pleasant . . . I remember the shirt that he wore.

The jeans he was wearing. The white hair.”

But that was the extent of her encounter with Aarons. Hermana Mayor, however, she remembers visiting a couple more times, and on a third with her parents. “It was a feast every time,” she recalls. “They would put rice inside bamboo, among other things, and cook it there together.” She remembers the lunches by the shore, followed by siesta in a room always occupied by two or three lady guests. Siesta was always followed by cocktails. “I think we had dinner first, and then movies. We always had movies in the island. On a big screen in the main house.” What was most unforgettable were the rides in the white jeeps that went around the vast property during sundown. In these trips, she remembers being entranced by the light of the fireflies setting the island bushes aglow. “I haven’t seen anything like that since,” she says. Perhaps it’s a testament to Toda’s entertaining prowess that his guests could barely remember details about being in Hermana Mayor. Perhaps it’s a testament to Aarons’ ability to blend with his surroundings, the better to catch unguarded moments for his pictures. Because try as she must, Marylou Prieto barely recalls posing for him. “Maybe he was hiding behind the bushes?” she says, laughing.

S E P T E M B E R 2016 103

THE HOUSE THAT

TIM YAP BUILT

WHAT MAKES A HOME? FOR TIM YAP. IT’S NO LONGER ABOUT COLORS, BUT THE STORIES AND FRIENDSHIPS THAT ACCOMPANY THE PIECES THEREIN. AND, IF THOSE ARE ACCIDENTAL, THEN ALL THE BETTER. PAOLO ENRICO MELENDEZ SITS DOWN WITH THE MEDIA VETERAN TO UNCOVER THE BEST OF THOSE STORIES

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PATRICK DIOKNO

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

The apartment wall as curated art space. Yap's collection includes a Manansala woodblock print, and a stylish seat by Sonny Sunga and Arnold Austria. Opposite: An Andres Barrioquinto sculpture watching over the wardrobe. Also on guard: A painting by FJMCinco.

Previous spread: A whimsical chair by mixed-metals master Daniel dela Cruz; Yap looks up to the house's happy messiah, sculpted by Leeroy New.

106 S E P T E M B E R 2016

FOR MEDIA AND SOCIETY FIGURE TIM YAP, PUTTING TOGETHER HIS NEW HOME HAS BEEN A SERIES OF HAPPY ACCIDENTS. “This is it, at its most organic,” he says as he welcomes Rogue inside.

He sweeps one extended arm across the space around him, looking as unguarded as a decade-long homeowner—although Yap had moved in just under two years ago.

“I don’t even think this is shoot ready,” he continues. “Wala pang John Robert Powers before facing the world.” Yap says travel, work, and social commitments have kept him from completing his house.

It doesn’t look it. The space feels accomplished, intuitive, and once inside it looks nothing like the uniform design of this exclusive subdivision’s townhouses.

In the 20 or so months since he moved in, Yap has been slowly adding to the details, both interior and exterior. “I didn’t know it would take so much effort!” he laughs. He had been happy with his condo living, but recently something ticked, like an alarm clock: the need to build a proper house for himself. So he started looking. He picked his current location because “a lot of my friends are here,” he admits. His first pick for an address was reserved, but he put in a strong bid. When the deadline for the initial buyer lapsed, Yap made the downpayment in half an hour.

Things got rolling fast before he even moved in. Anthony and Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan came over to pray over the location in blessing. Yap went around the neighborhood, knocking on doors to invite friends to the ceremony. Even the cats were quick to make themselves home. Yap fed four strays, which are now regulars to the home during meal hours. “Ginawa na akong canteen,” he says.

Yap asked his good friend, architect and visual artist Carlo Calma, to help him put the house together. He had only one rider: that the theme

was to be Man on the Moon. “Since I was a kid, I’d always been fascinated by the man on the moon. We lived in Binondo and we would pass by Roxas Boulevard. At night I would look up at the moon and just wonder.”

At a young age, Yap knew that he wanted a cylindrical house, to evoke the curves, sweeps, and crests so usually associated with things lunar. But given the design constraints with his new home, he opted for circles. The first conversation piece he brought in was a round, multicolored, Ugandan fertility mask. Playful and brash, it now adorns the last staircase landing fronting the dining space, right before one climbs to the house’s more private areas. “We didn’t have a design plan. We’ve always gone with individual pieces,” he says. Everything has been falling into place since.

The most striking first impression of Tim Yap’s home is the wall’s color palette. Or the sparseness of it. Carlo Calma had convinced Yap to go with just three: black, gray, and white. His friends had balked. “Tim, you? No!” they had said, remembering Yap’s former home, which was all bright colors and busy patterns. “My former apartment was like someplace Willy Wonka would hang out at,” Yap says. But Calma had chosen the colors because he wanted Yap to go minimalist. “He didn’t succeed!” laughs Yap. Indeed. His front door alone is full of cheek. A heavy, circular installation accessed by biometric security, the circular door was inspired by New Zealand’s Hobbiton, the movie set used in the hit Lord of Rings films.

The door holds the owner’s initials in the interior side.

His receiving area and kitchen are straightforward if still handsome.

There are wedding ceremony figurines from Africa; a playful plastic bust of Beethoven with horns; a leather seat shaped like an elephant, its back heavily scratched by Yap’s favored cat, Juanita. Yap’s new Pomeranian puppy, S E P T E M B E R 2016 107

Panda, is the life of the ground floor.

It is on the second floor where Yap’s home begins to open up. As soon as one steps on the landing, one’s vision is led to an astronaut sculpture hanging from the ceiling. Copper-hued and with glowing, alien nodules on the suit’s points of articulation, the figure floats dominantly not just over its immediate space but the entire floor, an otherworldly mix of playful and serious: gravity and gravitas. Sculpted by Leeroy New and called Masayang Messiah, it hovers over a gray, curving customized sofa which evokes lunar landscapes. Highlighting the floor in a blood red circumference is a large carpet, which Yap reveals to have been one of the last designs by Evelyn Lim-Forbes.

In the adjoining dining area, a sleek marble desk by Nix Alañon awaits guests. At the head of the table, Carlo Tanseco’s winged Icarus Chair 108 S E P T E M B E R 2016

threatens to take its occupant on a fancyful ride. Beside that is a mirror escutcheon by Cos Zicarelli, and a stunning if nonfunctional seat by sculptor Daniel dela Cruz, whose mixed metal clockwork mechanisms have been a big hit at Makati art fairs as of late.

Yap admits that his expenses have shifted from clothes to art. “I enjoy it. Uupo ako diyan, parang sira, titingnan ko lang, mag-eenjoy.” The walls around the stairs leading to the third floor act as his gallery. Two heavy hitters welcome the visitor. The first is a Ronald Ventura, in a throwback to his earlier work, Watchmen, this time a polygonal golden bulul called Anito-Kristo, rendered in gold polygons and a gesture both messianic and cynical. The other is a commissioned Kenneth Cobonpue: woven figure of a man hanging upsidedown as on monkey bars, holding on each hand a lampshade painted like one half of the moon.

THE CHILLING FLOOR

The front door, inspired by New Zealand's Hobbiton and designed by Carlo Calma. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Office shelf with curios gifted and acquired; Icarus Chair by Carlo Tanseco; mementos from various events and shoots; a cat house on the third oor landing.

ARCHITECT CARLO CALMA HELPED PUT THE HOUSE TOGETHER. YAP HAD ONLY ONE RIDER: THAT THE THEME WAS TO BE MAN ON THE MOON. “WHEN I WAS A KID IN BINONDO, I WOULD LOOK UP AT THE MOON AND JUST WONDER.” Some of paintings date back to Yap’s old apartment, where he didn’t have a proper wall for hanging. “Some of them I gave away. I didn’t have much knowledge of art at the time. For example, KC Concepcion and I call each other Kitty, Kitty Cat. So I gifted her a cat painting. Would you believe it was a Valeria Cavestany?”

Yap has built his collection from the usual auctions, but some of the pieces he had received as gifts from friends. “We’re in media. We have access to so many designers, artists, who are in the know. Support ka lang ng exhibits, mapupuno na ang space mo.”

Among his collection is an Egg Fiasco sketch given to Yap by Secret Fresh during that gallery’s heyday, a shimmering Neal Oshima long exposure photograph, a Minnie Mouse as Sto. Niño by the iconoclast Mideo Cruz, and an Andres Barrioquinto sculpture peeking like a hidden joke from one corner of a bursting wardrobe.

Even his most private spaces, where performativity counts for less, are punctuated by art. In his office is a fur rug printed with primal patterns by actress Solenn Heussaff. A geometric metal lattice by sculptor Jinggoy Buensoceso serves as the ladder to a makeshift fifth floor, where Yap strikes bell and chime before meditating to either dawn or dusk. And, as a more personal conversation piece, tucked inside one of his bookshelves is a plaster cast of his late cat Juanita’s paw.

“Maganda yung feeling na wala ka nang space,” Yap says. “Bahala na!”

110 S E P T E M B E R 2016

There is an undeniable collection to the house’s vibe. Rogue brings this up with Yap, who agrees. “Well, my life can be frenetic. I need a place to regroup. Like my room in my old house. It was the most calm, contemplative spot. So I made sure that despite my little jolts of color, I still had a place where I could be serene.” His old master bedroom door now adorns one of his walls, “In memory of my old debauchery!” Yap laughs.

“Sometimes I make it seem like I have a grand plan,” Yap continues.

“But a lot of it is spontaneous, a series of happy accidents.” Yap’s friends would sometimes tell him, “Tim, do you remember, when we were kids you told me, you wanted this or that. And now you have it.” And Yap would go, “‘Really?’ Sometimes there’s no plan. Like this house.” He says that the Leeroy New sculpture’s pose mirrors Yap’s as he bungee jumped in Africa months before the commision. He points to a rectangle of mirrors arranged into angular but paradoxically warm ramps and angles. “That’s by Micaela Benedicto, who turned out to be the sister of my old friend Bobby.”

And, in a final example of coincidences, he explains that a pink and green acrylic sculpture shaped like a brain was made by a Thai artist, and not by Louie Cordero, as Rogue initially thought.

“I attended the launch of Nardong Tae, way back,” Yap says. Cordero had given one of the works on exhibit, which was number 52 on the catalog.

“That adds up to my lucky number.” And no, Cordero and the Thai artist don’t know each other.

SECRET SPACES

Yap's meditation spot is a makeshift fifth floor, accessed by a metal lattice sculpted by Jinggoy Buensoceso. Previous: The master bedroom door from Yap's old apartment.

COSTUME We're not trying to bring the barong back. it never really left.

It just got stuck somewhere between being your father's ninong

staple and what your president wears to the SONA. So we decided to air it out and let it loose from the stuffy halls of formality. And in this moment when everything native has acquired a new kind

NACIONAL of chic, there's never been a better time to take it to the streets

Photographs by

JO ANN BITAGCOL

Styled by

MICHAEL SALIENTES

A silkscreen graphic print of the city emblazoned on a black silk organza barong is a cool riff.

Rocker Kowboy Santos adds his own edgy spin to Pristine de Guzman's design by wearing the barong over a tie-dyed tank, with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He amps up the volume by throwing in a few leather and silver bracelets by Wynn Wynn Ong and silver repousse necklaces by Bea Valdes.

Kiddo Cosio and his son, Dylan, don't need much clothing when they're lounging about the family's El Union Coffee outlet in San Juan, La Union. But a few basics are on hand when the weather gets a little cooler, such as this ethnic print organic cotton hoodie by Vivien Ramsay which he casually throws over his old Topman denim shorts. A surfer's washboard abs provide the foil for Bea Valdes' silver repousse Bulol belt. Dylan's got his own surfer cool game going with a favorite vest from Israel that's a perfect match to his handpainted belly tats.

These guys strut their own brand of street style, easy on the eyes and downright real.

To their own basic jeans and tees, rapper Curtismith a.k.a. Mito Fabie (center), music producers King Puentespina (left) and Eric Trono (right) added a few articles for a bit of spunk.

Puentespina is wearing a tribal bead necklace from the Mountain Province and a cap, both from Tesoro's. The Tinalak insect pins on Smith's zippered Period Correct jacket are by Bea Valdes.

Trono's printed Kimono hoodie is by The Artisan, which he pairs with a printed shirt by The Twelfth House. The tribal bag is from the Mountain Province, available at Tesoro's.

Businessman and consultant Monchet Olives' signature dayto-day work attire exempliďŹ es a nonchalant expression of Hi-Lo style.

He prefers donning a cool chambray cotton barong from Tesoro's, worn over casual denim pants from Chris Jasler of Jail Jeans. A pair of Stubbs & Wooton slip-ons, an Hermès silk foulard, a hat by Lock Hatters and a cane from ac+632 complete Olives' casual get-up. He is shown here with his pets, Bambi and Kumbo who like to go on country trips with their master aboard a Jeep Renegade.

Photographer Jake Verzosa and his partner, Up Dharma Down lead vocalist Armi Millare usually zip around the city in Verzosa's Vespa.

Versoza is wearing a cotton shirt jacket by Vivien Ramsay, a Pinangga embroidered shirt from Tesoro's.

The antique tribal bag is from El Amanecer Intramuros. Armi is wearing a patchwork kimono and wide-leg black pants by Joey Samson.

The Garapata bag is by artist Dex Fernandez. Parked nearby is a Vespa.

Photographer-model JoAnn Bitagcol stepped in front of the camera in between work for this story to take a self-portrait.

She exploits the contrast between old and new with a black wool gabardine jacket and cream tuxedo pants by Joey Samson worn over an ornate Namatta wrap skirt from the mountain province. This gal is fearless: JoAnn adds more to the layers of patterns, colors, and textures with a black fringed raffia belt by Bea Valdes.

Singer Rita Martinez in an avant garde ensemble.

She is wearing a handembroidered barong by designer Milka Quin and Inabel patchwork pants

by Vivien Ramsay.

Architect Buji Libarnes wears an Inaul drawstring pants from Tesoro's, a beaded cuff from Bea Valdes, and leather bracelets from Wynn Wynn Ong. His wife and surďŹ ng buddy Nikki dela Paz (also an architect) wears her own stripe shirt over a Panyo maxi skirt from Tesoro's. The pearl brooches are from Bea Valdes, the sunglasses are by Fin Sunnies.

S e p te m b e r 2 0 16

SHOP LIST Where to buy the products featured in this issue

UNSEEN PLEASURES, PAGE 86

Kiehl's Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati; 728-9561.

PAGE 86 Miss Selfridge Emroidered maxi dress; Greenbelt 5, Legazpi Street, Makati; 7574853; missselfridge.com.

COSTUME NACIONAL, PAGE 112 PAGE 113 Pristine de Guzman of Slim’s Bespoke black silk organdy baron; pristinedeguzman@ ymail.com. Wynn Wynn Ong Repoussé silver necklaces and assorted silver and leather bracelets; wynnwynnong.com.

PAGE 89 For Love & Lemons Lace cropped top and skirt from LCP; forloveandlemons.com.

PAGE 90 For Love & Lemons Lace dress from LCP; forloveandlemons.com.

Lanai Drop earrings and floral headpiece; C-4 The Alley, Karrivin Plaza, Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati; lanai-manila.com.

PAGE 114 Vivien Ramsay Ethnic print organic cotton hoodie; vivienramsay.com. Wynn Wynn Ong Silver repoussé "Bulol" belt; wynnwynnong. com.

PAGE 91 Charina Sarte Denim dress; Greenbelt 5, Legazpi Street, Makati; 720-2613; charinasarte.com.

Lanai Hammock and wine glass; c-4 The Alley, Karrivin Plaza, Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati; lanai-manila.com.

PAGE 115 The Artisan Printed kimono hoodie; theartisanclothing.com. The Twelfth House Cotton shirt; the twelfthhouse.com. Tesoros Tribal Mt. Province bag; 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati; 887-6285; tesoros.ph. Tesoros Baseball cap and ethnic beads; 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati; 887-6285; tesoros.ph. Period Correct Zippered Jacket; period-correct. com. Human Cotton t-shirt; human,ph. Bea Valdes Tinalac insect pins; beavaldes.com.

PAGE 92 Eve the Label Slip dress; evethelabel.com.

Stockton Row Earrings from Cura V; R2, Power Plant Mall Rockwell, Rockwell Drive cor. Strella Street, Makati.

Lanai Tableware, blooms, and marble ashtray; c-4 The Alley, Karrivin Plaza, Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati; lanai-manila. com.

PAGE 116 Tesoros Chambray cotton barong; 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati; 887-6285; tesoros. ph. Chris Jasler of Jail Jeans Black trousers; 890-0353. Hermes Silk foulard; G/F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati City; 757-8910. ac632 Cane; 758-2564. Jeep Renegade; jeep.com.ph.

Garapata Bag; garapata.com.

PAGE 93 Keepsake the Label Coat; keepsakethelabel.com.au.

Eve the Label Slip dress; evethelabel.com.

Stockton Row Earrings from Cura V; R2, Power Plant Mall Rockwell, Rockwell Drive cor. Strella Street, Makati.

PAGE 95 Charina Sarte Denim dress; Greenbelt 5, Legazpi Street, Makati; 720-2613; charinasarte.com.

Stockton Row Earrings from Cura V; R2, Power Plant Mall Rockwell, Rockwell Drive cor. Strella Street, Makati.

Lanai Bracelet and ring; c-4 The Alley, Karrivin Plaza, Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati; lanai-manila.com.

PAGE 96 Miss Selfridge Emroidered maxi dress; Greenbelt 5, Legazpi Street, Makati; 7574853; missselfridge.com.

PAGE 97 Charina Sarte Denim dress; Greenbelt 5, Legazpi Street, Makati; 720-2613; charinasarte.com.

PAGE 98 Eve the Label Slip dress; evethelabel.com.

Stockton Row Earrings from Cura V; R2, Power Plant Mall Rockwell, Rockwell Drive cor. Strella Street, Makati.

Lanai Tableware, blooms, and marble ashtray; c-4 The Alley, Karrivin Plaza, Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati; lanai-manila. com.

122 S E P T E M B E R 2016

PAGE 117 Vivien Ramsay Cotton shirt jacket; vivienramsay.com. Tesoros "Pinanga" embroidered shirt; 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati; 887-6285; tesoros.ph. Uniqlo Jean; uniqlo.com.ph. Joey Samson Patchwork kimono and black wide pants; 455 Adalla Street, Palm Village, Makati. Louis Vuitton Sandals; Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati; 756-0637; louisvuitton.com. Vespa Vespa Sprint; vespaph.com.

PAGE 118 Joey Samson Black wool gabardine jacket and cream tuxedo pants; 455 Adalla Street, Palm Village, Makati. Bea Valdes Black raffia wrap belt; beavaldes.com. Tesoros "Namatta" Mt. Province wrap skirt; 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati; 887-6285; tesoros.ph.

PAGE 40 Scavolini The Peninsula Manila, Ayala cor.

Makati Avenue, Makati; 812-3456 loc 3707 / 3703.

Gucci Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati; 757-6291; bottegaveneta.com.

Givenchy Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati; givenchy. com.

YSL Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati; 757-6249; ysl.com.

HEAVY METAL, PAGE 54

DO IT YOURSELF, PAGE 65

PAGE 119 Milka Quin Hand embroidered tailored barong; milkaquin.com. Vivien Ramsay Inabel patchwork wrap pants; vivienramsay.com.

Accoutrement NYC by Annie Chen accoutrementsny.com; accoutrementsny@ gmail.com.

Thomas Sabo 2/F Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati; 896-9534.

Bottega Veneta Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati; bottegaveneta.com.

Chanel Rustan's Makati, Courtyard Drive, Ayala Center, Makati; 897-9183.

John Allan's Rustan's Makati, Courtyard Drive, Ayala Center, Makati; 897-9183.

L'Occitane Rustan's Makati, Courtyard Drive, Ayala Center, Makati; 897-9183.

PAGE 121 Tesoros "Inaul" drawstring pants; 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati; 887-6285; tesoros. ph. Bea Valdes Beaded cuff; beavaldes. com. Wynn Wynn Ong Leather bracelets; wynnwynnong.com. Anthill Fabric Gallery for Tesoros "Panyo" maxi skirt; 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati; 887-6285; tesoros.ph. Bea Valdes Pearl Brooches; beavaldes.com.

BRAVE NEW WORLD, PAGE 39 Garden Barn Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Phase 3, Parañaque.

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 16 / I S S U E 1 0 2

THE ROGUE ARENA Promotions and relevant items, direct from our partners

MARK OF A LEGEND Onitsuka Tiger partnered with 50 Singaporean artists to celebrate half a century of its iconic stripes

IN 1966, SPORTS icon Muhammad Ali refused the draft and was subsequently stripped of his World Heavyweight title. That same year, Onitsuka Tiger launched its most iconic line, the Mexico 66. These two events were combined in “The G.O.A.T.” which had multidisciplinary creative Eric Foenander place an image of the boxer formerly known as Cassius Clay on a white Mexico 66.

The piece was displayed along with those of 49 other artists, in a commermorative showcase at Pedder on Scotts in Singapore, to celebrate how far the brand has come along since its birth in 1949.

The task for the artist was simple: to make use of the shoe as a blank canvas. The exhibition offered an insight to the brand’s history and milestones, with special classic and new edition shoe models: Monochromatic black and white shoes sat proud on curvy roads; hand-painted footwear with cacti, mimosa and even a cheeky

tiger prawn hung in bird cages and tree houses; brightly-colored archive models were presented under hand-made shoe laced lamp shades; and shoes from the label’s Nippon made series and the Mexico 66 Phoenix, created 10 years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, were on display as a testament to model’s progress.

The highlight of the exclusive opening party was the debut of four vintage models: Limber Up (1961), Limber (1966), the first pair that carried the stripes, Runspark DS-SP (1966), and Limber BK (1967), a special version created for the Asian Games in Bangkok.

These four shoes served as the initial base model for the Mexico 66.

For one night only, guests were given an exclusive look at the vintage models, and traced how the stripes of the Onitsuka Tiger (Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati; 729-9451; onitsukatiger.com) have evolved to become an unforgettable symbol.

Se p te m b e r 2 0 16

FAMOUS ROGUE

IRVING PENN, photographer IN 1943, Alexander Liberman of Vogue gave Penn an associate position in the magazine’s art department and his first cover. Since then, the photographer spent his career perfecting a style no other lensman at the time could claim as their own. He popularized an austere aesthetic in photography, utilizing neutral backgrounds and tight corners to achieve a sense of extreme focus on his subjects. He also shot mundane objects—cigarette butts and wads of gum were art, no question—and societies far from American civilization, treating them with the same creative reverence as any supermodel. Though Penn worked in an industry fueled by product and profit, he quietly fought to ensure that his subjects were never seen as mere commodity, as if he saw the innate transcendent qualities in everything he set his sight on.