Master designers to ‘terno’ advocates
1. For 2020’s Red Charity Gala, the talented Ivarluski Aseron will finally get his much-deserved moment on the big stage as next year’s featured designer. This is long overdue—his contemporaries Dennis Lustico and Joey Samson have taken their respective turns at the annual fundraiser—and we can’t wait to see one of the finest fashion designers of his generation wows us.
2. Inno Sotto is slated to teach a master class at the Jojie Lloren-led Fashion + Arts + Business school later next year. This, on top of mentoring young designers at the Bench-sponsored Ternocon. We hope to see more of our master creatives sharing their knowledge to a new breed of designers.
3. Gino Gonzales and Bench have been relentless in their advocacy of reviving and promoting the terno. May they, and the volunteer designer-mentors, never tire.—CHECHE V. MORAL
From Pope Francis to Greta Thunberg
1. Isko Moreno—because I’m hoping he’s really going to break the trapo mold. Plus, he’s easy on the eyes.
2. Greta Thunberg—because I want to see big businessmen keel over when she’s proven right. In fact, I want to see all climate deniers wallow in La Niña floods.
3. Sarah Geronimo—because although I’m not really a fan, I want to see the girl married and finally living her own well-earned life.
4. Pope Francis—because he is my Pope forever, and I hope the conservative, elitist church dinosaurs out to get him (i.e., the pedophiles, the bible-toting anti-LGBTQ bloc) are struck down by divine lightning.
5. All the artisans, designers and entrepreneurs behind the resurgence of indigenous fabrics—because I want so much for them to prove it’s not just a trend.—ALYA B. HONASAN
Netflix stars and ’90s musicians
1. Korean heartthrob Gong Yoo has yet to visit the country. He will be mobbed.
2. With video streaming sites like Netflix occupying our pastimes, we want to see fave stars like Gillian Anderson (“Sex Education”), Helena Bonham Carter or Tobias Menzies (“The Crown”) coming over to promote their shows.
3. It’s a stab in the dark, but maybe Sade or Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt of Everything but the Girl would consider holding intimate concerts for the die-hard Pinoy fans (this one included).—RAOUL J. CHEEKEE
From Captain Marvel to the Terminator
1. Jillian Michaels—The fitness world fell in love with the original badass trainer on the reality series “The Biggest Loser” when it witnessed how this petite woman drilled men and women four times her bodyweight into exercising. The highly driven 5’2” 117-pound Michaels—with just 13 percent body fat, by the way—pushed and motivated a select team of morbidly obese contestants to drop down to their ideal weight, and inspired millions to do the same. She has since branched out into podcasting, life coaching and writing, and now owns one of the most comprehensive fitness apps in the market today (“My Fitness” by Jillian Michaels).
2. Brie Larson—What’s not to love about Brie “Captain Marvel” Larson? The 30-year-old gained recognition for starring in critically acclaimed dramas like “The Spectacular Now” and “Room,” where she won multiple awards, including the Oscars and Bafta for Best Actress. Now an MCU superhero, Larson learned that playing a superhero requires superhuman strength, as well.
Nine months before shooting started, Larson put in twice-a-day gym workouts four times a week and two- hour sessions twice a week, on top of time spent in fight training. She went from the actress who couldn’t do a single push-up to the kickass superhuman who could do impressive weighted push-ups and more—like pushing a 5,000-lb Jeep backward uphill for a full minute.
3. Arnold Schwarzenegger—This veritable legend remains relevant in this age of high-tech fitness programs. The actor/bodybuilder/politician/TV host/fitness advocate continues to influence millennials with his #AskArnold hashtag where he answers fitness questions ranging from workout protein to pumping iron form on Twitter. He maintains his popular shirt line called Come With Me If You Want to Lift and continues to be active on his YouTube channel.
4. Arianna Huffington—The media mogul has two major media accomplishments under her belt, Huffington Post and Thrive Global. Thrive Global focuses on healthy living advice for when you’re at home or at work. Thrive Global is centered on the importance of sleep, a subject Huffington discusses extensively in her bestselling book, “The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time.”
5. Serena Williams—Without a doubt, one of the best athletes of all time. Numerous criticisms tailed this tennis pro, businesswoman and Unicef ambassador. This fierce goddess of tennis loves to cook healthy meals but sneaks in some fries now and then. (Her fave celebratory meal is cheese pizza from Bella Vita in New York.) When working out, she listens to her killer playlist, including Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” Hall and Oates’ “Maneater” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).”—ANNE A. JAMBORA