Tap three popular fashion designers to each create a pocket collection for an evening show attended by celebrities—then create a scenario of a three-way contest among three glossies by assigning each rag’s beauty editor to direct the hairstyles of the models. That’s how.
This is what the makers of Hana, a recent addition to supermarkets’ hair and body care shelves, did that no other brand in recent memory has tried to do.
And that was how a ballroom at the Makati Shangri-La recently became an arena of a gentrified kind, where the fashion magazine people (also the show’s co-producers) occupied their own corners, three elevated platforms designed to look like cozy nooks amid an ersatz oasis. The venue was filled with the heady floral scent of the Hana hair-care line.
The den on the right of the runway had the Preview girls, led by editor Pauline Juan, whose team was assigned to fashion designer Joey Samson, who sent out an all-white collection in his distinct avant-garde style.
Across them was the Metro staff, with beauty editor Charmagne Laconico dressed in an Audrey Hepburn-ish black number by Randy Ortiz, whose models she styled. Ortiz went all-black, ’50s Hollywood glamour, and dressed up model Olivia Medina, Hana’s brand endorser.
In their own corner farther back was the Mega crew, with editor Peewee Reyes and Mega Group founder Sari Yap. Mega was tasked to style for designer JC Buendia, who designed a mini collection of corporate wear.
Hana is by the Japanese beauty brand Shokubutsu, brought to the country by Peerless Products Manufacturing Corp., the same company that brought in Systema toothpaste with Lion Japan. Hana’s claim is that it uses 100-percent all-natural ingredients, which was reflected in the easy, frills-free hairstyles of the evening’s models.
Hana is also running a digital campaign dubbed “#NoFilterBeauty,” which asks women to post un-retouched, non-filtered selfies, displaying their natural beauty. The three participating glossies will select winning photos to be published in their respective magazines.
Hana shampoo comes in three variants: Soft and Silky, Anti-Hairfall, and Anti-Dandruff. The line also comes with a conditioner, body washes, and hand washes.
PHOTOS BY ARNOLD ALMACEN