If you are among the 447,500 who follow him on Twitter, or the 176,000 who lap up his every post on Instagram, you already know that Bryanboy spent the last few days back home in Manila.

It was the famous fashion blogger’s first visit since May last year, a brief stop following his appearance at the International New York Times (formerly International Herald Tribune) SEA of Luxury Conference in Singapore, where he was a speaker alongside fashion and luxury industry heavyweights.

He spent the past five days bonding with his family, catching up with old friends, and having his fill of down-home Filipino food “that one can’t seem to find anywhere else in the world (in spite of Pinoy communities replicating it overseas) but home,” he said.

“It’s amazing to see friends whenever they go overseas, but there’s a familial and warm feeling whenever I see them at home,” said the blogger, whose real name is Bryan Grey Yambao. It was Tuesday, the day after philanthropist Kaye Tiñga hosted a homecoming dinner for him at her home-accessories store W/17 in Makati City.

Mutual friend

Bryanboy met Tiñga through their mutual friend, fashion director Ariel Lozada, who also put together the dinner and the guest list with Tiñga’s W/17 business partner Andres Vazquez-

Prada. Present were the blogger’s friend Ingrid Go, fashion designers Jojie Lloren, Dennis Lustico, Joey Samson and Ivarluski Aseron, and Tessa Prieto-Valdes, among a few others.

“She’s such a gracious and kind woman,” Bryanboy said of Tiñga. “And her sense of humor. Dying! I love her! We always meet up whenever she visits New York.”

Also on Tuesday, he sat for Neal Oshima, who was shooting Patrick Rosas’ 20th anniversary beauty book.

“I’ve been told they’re releasing it during World AIDS Day next year so it’s for a good cause,” he said of the book. “I want to be involved in fundraising efforts for the survivors and victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” so I’ve had a number of meetings on what I could do beyond writing a check. I think it’s imperative to help the survivors—relief goods are akin to putting a band-aid on a wound. We need a long-term solution.”

The New York-based Filipino blogger and Fashion Week front-row fixture also appears as social media correspondent on the reality TV show “America’s Next Top Model.”

Asia

But what may be groundbreaking was his presence at the long-running INYT Luxury Conference, hosted by veteran fashion journalist and editor Suzy Menkes; he was the only blogger on the list of high-powered speakers that included Tom Ford chair Domenico de Sole; Ermenegildo Zegna, the CEO of his namesake company; Michele Norsa, CEO of Salvatore Ferragamo; and designers Anna Sui, Phillip Lim and Anya Hindmarch. (Local luxury department store Adora’s founder Eman Pineda was also a speaker.)

“Suzy Menkes invited me to be part of the conference as one of their speakers,” Bryanboy said. “We did a 30-minute Q&A in front of 500 luxury executives. I don’t think they’ve had a blogger speaker, either, so the idea of speaking was quite intense. It wasn’t so bad in the end because the atmosphere was rather light.”

He continued, “For two days, they had a wide range of speakers with one thread in common: Asia. I’m so happy there were more than a handful of people I already know. My friend Anna Sui also spoke in the conference, likewise with Phillip Lim. Anna was my partner-in-crime at the event. When people asked us how we met, we both say, ‘Harvard!’ even though neither of us studied there. It’s hysterical! We indeed met at Harvard three years ago because we both spoke there as well!

“Most of Suzy’s questions focused on me, how I built my brand coming from the Philippines, the differences between building my brand in Manila versus New York, how a fashion brand can grow using multimedia.”

(Ironically, Menkes has been known to be critical of bloggers, singling out Bryanboy as an example in an article she wrote last February. “When [Marc Jacobs] named a bag after

Bryanboy in 2008, he made the blogger’s name, and turned on an apparently unending shower of designer gifts, which are warmly welcomed at bryanboy.com,” she wrote.)

Bryanboy left for New York Wednesday night to fulfill his other commitments, including a sophomore accessories collection for the furrier Adrienne Landau.

“When I started my blog nine years ago, I had no idea it would turn into something that it is today,” he said. “I’m constantly challenging myself on what I am capable of creatively, and I’m diversifying to different platforms—mainstream media (television), merchandising (product collaborations), brand associations and endorsements, social media projects.”

Asked of his long-term plans, he said, “I can’t say New York is a permanent thing, and then for all you know, in five years, I’ll move to, for example, Beijing. At present, NYC is the perfect hub, especially with all the traveling  I do.”

For those curious about everything else that he does in between, that’s what social media is for.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARIEL LOZADA AND FRIENDS