French fashion brand Hervé Léger celebrated femininity and glamour during the recent opening of its first store in Asia at the East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City.
Capturing the event’s theme were guests of honor Vicki Belo, Tootsie Angara, Small Laude, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Cristalle Belo, Heart Evangelista and Stephanie Kienle-Gonzalez. These gals have the body to wear Léger, but some trying-hard ones ended up looking like ridiculously wrapped whales.
Blurbs say that “the ultra-chic Hervé Léger look is designed with the infamous, body contouring dress in mind, seamlessly sculpting the female silhouette with signature banding construction,” and must be worn by women who really have the sculptured body for this iconic “bandage dress.”
Originally founded in 1985, Hervé Léger was acquired by the BCBG Max Azria Group in 1998. Designer, chair and CEO Max Azria brought new life to the label with his own fabulous creations, quickly embraced by today’s most renowned style-setters, said TechnoTime Retailers Corp. CEO Raffy Florencio—the man responsible for bringing BCBG and Hervé Léger to Manille, dahlings.
I happened to have seen the tall, gorgeous beauty Audrey Lopez Puckett wearing a Léger years ago, and she looked great, considering she already has five children!
Vicky Zubiri, who also has the figure for a Léger outfit, didn’t waste time and bought four outfits in different colors.
Léger has always been copied, its cheaper versions tagged “made in China.” Oh well, the real one is now here, at Level 1, Atrium, East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza.
‘Tradition Well Served’
Another celebration was that one held recently at The Peninsula Manila, the premiere of the documentary “Tradition Well Served.”
It narrates the history and development of The Peninsula Hong Kong, founded by the Kadoorie family of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH) group, one of the world’s oldest and most-respected hotel companies.
The 45-minute documentary film features archival footage, historical photographs and interviews with key personalities never seen or shown before, dahlings.
There was Hollywood glamour as actress Stefanie Powers described The Peninsula Beverly Hills property as “Oscar Central.”
The Peninsula Bangkok staff is shown creating the most extravagantly decorated krathong (lotus-shaped container) for the Loy Krathong river festival, while The Peninsula Tokyo brought in cherry blossoms inside the hotel.
But the docu’s highlight, as far as the Filipino audience was concerned, is The Peninsula Manila’s annual Christmas concert, naturellement.
The Peninsula Paris, which opened this year, is included in the docu, with details of the painstaking restoration of its location—a late 19th-century classic French building with Haussman and Neo-classic details, which first opened as the Hotel Majestic in 1908.
Après the screening, the guests stayed on, talking about how thoroughly impressed they were by the docu.
Oh yes, it’s Johnny
Longtime friend and colleague Johnny Litton—the original icon of late-night talk shows, “Oh No It’s Johnny,” that lasted 12 years—hosted a thanksgiving dinner for his clients and close pals.
Held at the elegant Champagne Room of the Manila Hotel, the event was attended by Manila Hotel president, lawyer Joey Lina; Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and wife Gretchen; US Ambassador Philip Goldberg; Italian Ambassador Massimo Roscigno with wife Agnes; Chilean Ambassador Roberto Mayorga with wife Paulina; SGV & Co. founder Washington SyCip; Filipino-American community leader and New York businesswoman-philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis; CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corp. vice chair William Go; and AML Hotel Consultancy owner-principal consultant Arthur Lopez.
Lina, Mayorga and wife Paulina, as well as McDonald’s Philippines founder and chair George Yang sang a few numbers to celebrate the occasion.
The dinner was excellent and everyone had a grand time at Manila’s Grand Dame—like we always do when my palangga Johnny is around, di bala?