And the winner is...

Styling beauty pageants ain't an easy task with more than a dozen girls try to outdo each other.  For the second time, the style team was tasked to do the recently concluded Ms. Makati 2013 held at the Makati coliseum which was directed by Jackie Aquino and the JCA team.  The quest to the crown is quite a tedious process where both beauty and brains go through a series of tests. From swimsuits to evening gowns, the showcase of muses is an amazing anatomical display of the female form.  Behind the lights lies a high level of pressure among the ladies who share laughters and tears in between sequences and makeup retouches.  Running from one portion to another, chaos breaks loose as quick changes happen in only a few minutes as if one tries to catch their breath to make it back to the spotlight. When each contestant waits behind the stage, pressure rises anxieties come to play and hands become as cold as ice...waiting to exhale.  But no matter how toxic the backstage scene maybe, each girl wears a unfazed ear to ear smile to face the many. At the end of the night, one girl is crowned with a promising future and responsibility.  After all the grueling process , the title is really all about service and beauty with a purpose.

Luxe Celebration

Triumph, a household name in the undergarments industry celebrated is celebrating its 125th year and in the Philippines.  Highlighting style through innovation, the legendary brand participated at the recently concluded Philippine Fashion Week at the SMX Convention Center and presented an exhibit and fashion show. This author and his team was fortunate enough to participate in this milestone event by styling a 90 piece collection of contemporary underwear in their most alluring incantations.  From the boardroom to the streets and into red carpet activities,   these basic everyday essentials have become a serious statement.  Triumph showcased pieces  that aren't just simple underwear but through the years their forward approach have reinvented the classics into relevant fashion. From fabrication to colors and styles, the celebrated name has definitely created a mark of distinction in the gobal undergarments industry.  Ending the show was celebrity/beauty queen/TV host Ruffa Gutierrez wearing Triumph and a tulle skirt by Look of Style 2010 Designer of the Year Pablo Cabahug.  

The new corporate.

Fitting form.

Pastel perfect.

Mod seduction.

Reinventing style.

Underwear as outerwear.

Purple reign.

Emerald attraction.

No turning back.

Modern glamour.

Faux fur in jewel tones.

The new sophisticate.

All luxed up.

Bringing sexy back.

Sophisticated sexy.

Color of the season.

Ruffa Gutierrez and her court.

Runway queen.

Stellar stunner in Triumph and Pablo Cabahug tulle creation..

The scene backstage.

Accessories by Koket.

Ruffa Gutierrez with designer Pablo Cabahug.

Break a leg!

Legs, legs and more legs.  Chic hosiery brand Leg Love recently presented its latest collection a moon ago at the Rockwell Tent, Makati.  This author was lucky to be commissioned to style both the lines of Pablo Cabahug and Bianca Valerio.  One thing ideal in styling a fashion show is when you are given creative freedom to execute an idea to the best of your abilities. It was a challenge two distinctive lines one inspired by theatrics while the other high fashion.  The first task was to display sexiness with refinement. Bianca Valero's line was inspired by the iconic Dita Von Teese-burlesque. Sexy, sultry but sophisticated, the style team incorporated the use of fur, head pieces, lace gloves and luxe underwear by Triumph and killer heels by Parisian.  The second was to present Pablo Cabahug's line in two parts of high fashion.  Inspired from the recent Fall 2011 Holiday collections, inspiration for the first part was all about color.  Blocks of colors paraded the runways in short and long dresses complimenting the new hues of Leg Love accentuated by satin gloves and towering shoes by DAS.  The second take was a dramatic interpretation of ebony in a celebration of patterns. The models strutted the runways with embroidered masks, spectacular dresses and on the radar shoes by DAS. The highlight of the show was the stellar appearance of style icon Divine Lee in a fierce scarlet gown by Pablo Cabahug and Leg Love's dinstinctive and fashion forward masterpiece.  Truly a night to remember, it was a fantastic show that prides with great collaboration, teamwork and friends. A subliminal testimony marked and strengthened by all the leg love.    

Queen of the Night.  Divine Lee.

Leg Lovin'.  From left:  Ferdi Salvador, Bianca Valerio, Ram de Veyra, Pablo Cabahug and Divine Lee.

The Author together with his Style Team.  From Left-Rudolph Leonor, Teri Marcelo Eunice Sason, Jaja, Pam Bassig, Hannah de la Paz, Jaja Bolos, Slegna Coo, Grace Caison, Donna Gonzales Lim, Mikka Velasquez and Nicole Santos.

Thanks to Mark FRancis Photography for the pictures.