Welcome to your personal #newnormal!

Getting our lives back on track after lockdown will be equally exciting and daunting. We will surely find ourselves needing to embrace new ways of living and working.

It’s important to stay positive and focused on our life’s purpose. We need to view the lifting of the quarantine as one step on the road back to how we wish to live.

It has provided a great opportunity for a life-changing and voluntary shift in behavior. This extraordinary crisis has allowed everyone to recalibrate what matters to each of us, and to think afresh about what we might do differently in the future.

The new coronavirus disease pandemic pushed many businesses into the digital age. For those that had already invested in the use of technology, adapting may have been quite straightforward. In contrast, some companies struggled to change processes and functions, initially resulting in chaos.

Fashion in digital world

Fashion has been halted but is alive in the digital world. Fashion is adapting to the demands of slowing down and the essence of functionality. On the local fashion scene, my fave designer and quarantine buddy Rajo Laurel showcased his creativity and ingenuity in the virtual world.

Together with Saga Events CEO Robby Carmona, Rajo did an online runway show during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). In just two weeks, the creative duo got their teams to digitally produce the show, even if Rajo was quarantined in his beach house. With almost 2,000 viewers, the Facebook Live event also featured Rajo’s muses before the main event. Birthday greetings added to the overflow of good spirits.

Rajo’s collection, titled Hacienda, was introduced by one of his muses, TV host and runway coach in “Asia’s Next Top Model” Joey Mead King. The seamless virtual show was directed by Robby. Hosted by Issa Litton, the show is up for viewing on the Saga Events Facebook page.

Several designers, apart from Rajo, have sewn and donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to many front-liners. They also have designed more fashionable suits for people to use when braving the new world. Through generous friends, House of Laurel distributed close to 5,000 PPE suits to different hospitals.

New landscape

Opening up his Makati atelier to create PPE, Los Angeles-based Filipino designer Puey Quiñones has consistently donated them to several hospitals with doctors and nurses in mind, as well as military groups and their personnel. His most recent productions involved creating custom protection gear for AirAsia, Fila and Chevrolet.

Backed by the idea of forward fashion, Puey unveiled his collection titled “Fashion for Protection” through an online runway show.

Hosted by Tim Yap and streamed on his Facebook account, the show is a quick glance at how fashion adapts and continues to inspire and entertain us. With top local fashion and entertainment celebrities in attendance, the virtual affair was made extra special even in the comfort of people’s homes.

Special guests received a bottle of Chandon, Moet Hennessy’s Premium Sparkling Wine, and chef Chele Gonzales of Gallery by Chele prepared a three-course meal. All the PPE were sanitized by Viralcyde for extra safety.

Paul Martineau, president of Puey Quiñones Los Angeles, explained how the business adapts in the new fashion landscape with the launch of the company’s e-commerce website, shop.pueyquinones.com.

Concierge shopping service

How about some hassle-free digital shopping?

The Specialist is an “at home” concierge service created by SSI Group to help facilitate and assist customers with their shopping needs via direct digital communication with customers and delivery at home or curbside pick-up.

Whether you’re on the lookout for inspiring styles to liven your day, or searching for something to make staying at home a little extra, The Specialist can provide anything you may need.

The concierge service will continue to operate and cater to clients even after the modified ECQ has been lifted, in order to align with the security and protective mandates placed within the community. Check out Instagram @SSILifePH for more details.

Father’s Day

Hotels and restaurants are now finding new ways to adapt, as well.

For Father’s Day on June 21, Makati Shangri-La’s latest dining venture, Sinfully@Home, has prepared an array of sumptuous options exclusively for the man in your house.

There are three set menus to choose from. The Filipino Set Menu consists of yellowfin tuna kinilaw, pork crispy pata and organic lechon kawali. The International Set Menu features roast baby chicken, grilled Australian sirloin and more. The third selection is classic Asian cuisine with the Chinese Set Menu, with assorted dimsum platter, sweet and sour chicken, wok-fried pepper beef and more.

Top the celebration with homemade cocktails from Sage Bar. For delivery of #ForTheManInTheHouse packages for Father’s Day, contact 0917-5885537, or search Sinfully@Home on Foodpanda or Grab. For more updates, check out Instagram @MakatiShangriLa.

Finally, remember that the best way to adapt to the new normal is by accepting that it is here. Embrace it. It presents a significant opportunity for businesses to innovate, adapt and move forward with a positive outlook.

It’s therefore important that everyone continues to stay vigilant and adhere to up-to-date public health advice in your community. However it remains true that our best defense against infection is our behavior as individuals.

Ultimately, the more we continue to follow these guidelines, the lower the overall case numbers and infection rate will be, helping the global community get back to some form of normality as quickly as possible. Stay safe and don’t forget to keep washing your hands!