At a time that feels so negative, when a mouth spewing expletives is the default image on TV, there’s a sliver of good news, a feel-proud moment for the Filipino.
Foremost designer Kenneth Cobonpue has been asked by Vivienne Westwood (the brand) to exhibit his furniture at the Vivienne Westwood store in the Fuorisalone during the Milan Design Week on April 4-9 in Milan.
Cobonpue will exhibit his classic pieces such as The Bloom Chair and The Dragnet Chair.
This is the first time that a Filipino designer has been asked by the famous brand founded by Vivienne Westwood, the iconoclastic British fashion designer who has become a global brand. She’s known for the so out-of-the-box, quirky designs that blasted traditional aesthetics.
So ahead of her time, Westwood single-handedly blurred the lines between inner garment and outer garment, by turning even the lowly brassiere or corset into mainstream evening wear.
“I was surprised,” Cobonpue told Lifestyle on Thursday night, “when her staff e-mailed me to say that they wanted my furniture. I guess the quirky, whimsical designs suited them.”
Cobonpue’s furniture has developed a global market and celebrity clientele, the most publicized being Brad Pitt (the Voyage bed). Therefore, it really should not have been a surprise that he’s been on the radar of Westwood’s staff.
During the Apec Summit Welcome Dinner in 2015, Cobonpue’s Yoda Chair was in the limelight—world leaders led by then US President Barack Obama and the host, then President Benigno Aquino III, sat on Yoda chairs. The Yoda Chair became one of the more popular images of that historic meet.
Cobonpue flew to Milan this weekend to open the midsummer exhibit at Vivienne Westwood and hopefully he will meet one of fashion’s modern icons.
Aside from the Westwood store, Cobonpue also has his booth in Milan Design Week.
Change!
Never thought you’d see the day when girlfriends/mistresses/partners would give official statements and hog the headlines. In the olden days, they were hidden. Change has indeed come. Adapt to it.
Summer sailing
Setting off just before sunset, one recent weekend, on a brief cruise around the bay (which bay, we’re not saying), our friend looked out, over at the neighboring yacht that was also about to set sail.
Who should he see? A most prominent gentleman with a bevy of pretty young things. (The wife must have been too busy to join.)
And you thought the sun had already set on that empire. Not.