SoFA grads ‘dare’ in 2025 show

BY NASTASHA VERAYO DE VILLA

JANUARY 24, 2025

(From left) Veda Galagnara, Mara Sofia Imperial, Jilliane Theresa Louise Santos, Nikka Bañaga, Catherine Nicole Sta. Ana, Hanz Nabong —PHOTOS BY NASTASHA DE VILLA, CONTRIBUTED

Read Next

Coming soon: The first AI model for creating sustainable cosmetics  

In the cavernous hall of The Fifth at Rockwell, the future of fashion came a-strutting.

For their 2025 graduation show titled “Foregather,” which means to assemble, SoFA Design Institute graduating students came together on Saturday to present their unique perspectives and stories.

“What’s exciting and I would say a bit different about this show, compared to our last grad shows, is that the students really got involved in conceptualizing even the production,” SoFA cofounder Amina Aranaz-Alunan told Lifestyle, explaining how they maximized the use of the LED screens with visuals from motion graphic artist Isaiah Cacnio, commissioned DJ Ean Mayor of UDD for the show, and even added scent diffusers for a complete sensory experience.

Sining Filipina: Pioneering all-female art tilt is back

BY NASTASHA VERAYO DE VILLA

JANUARY 20, 2025

Seated: Zonta Club Makati and Environs (ZCME) president Joanne Zapanta-Andrada flanked by ZCME former international president Olivia Ferry and ZCME former president Maritess Pineda; standing: emcee Rico Hizon, Airspeed president Rosemarie Rafael, ZCME past president Armita Rufino, ZCME committee chair of Sining Filipina (SF) Stella Cabalatungan, Art Association of the Philippines president Fidel Sarmiento, ZCME’s Melissa Romualdez, SM Supermalls vice president for corporate marketing Grace Magno, ZCME former president Carol Llanillo, SF judging committee chair Ada Mabilangan —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Read Next

Lea Salonga goes ‘Into The Woods’ 

The call for local female artists to pick up their brushes and join the first-ever all-female nationwide art competition has sounded for the second time.

Following the success of last year’s launch of Sining Filipina, the pioneering competition that highlights the Filipino woman’s perspective communicated through art continues to allow Filipinas to take up significant space in the art world.

Despite the tight three-week deadline, more than 730 entries were submitted during last year’s competition. “We’ll triple that!” said Fidel Sarmiento, president of the Art Association of the Philippines, which was founded in 1948 by Purita Kalaw Ledesma, adding that he had been inundated by queries ever since he posted about the contest on his social media accounts.

‘Perfect venue’: Bringing luxury fashion closer to Cebuanos

BY NASTASHA VERAYO DE VILLA

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Kenzo at Nustar —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Read Next

Daniel dela Cruz takes ‘lighter, happier’ trip down Alice’s rabbit hole

“It’s been a long time coming.”

During the celebration of the opening of Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe, and Versace in The Mall at Nustar Resort and Casino on Monday, SSI Group Inc. president and CEO Anton T. Huang told Lifestyle that they have been looking for an opportunity to bring the global luxury brands to Cebu for years, and the Gokongwei Group’s development provided just the perfect venue.

“It was really a great opportunity for us to open the luxury brand stores in an incredible shopping environment such as this,” said Huang.

Anton Huang and daughter Nikki Huang. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Nustar Resort and Casino is a magnificent 9-hectare facility that houses hotels, restaurants, events places, a casino, and the first luxury mall in Cebu and the whole Visayas-Mindanao region. Huang said it gave them the “perfect venue” to expand their Cebu market as well as bring these iconic brands to their loyal Cebuano clients.

“A lot of the customers that we have here were likewise our customers in Manila. This gives us the opportunity to service them closer to their homes and more frequently as well, so they don’t have to come to Manila to shop at our stores,” he said.

And while it is true that the purchasing behavior of clients is evolving, especially with the accessibility provided by online shops, it’s still a whole different matter having a physical space to visit to be able to experience these luxury products themselves.

Gabbi Garcia in Givenchy

Nadine Lustre in Loewe

Touch and feel

While customers often go online—on social media or the website—to see what’s available, “They don’t necessarily shop online, especially for the more expensive brands. They want to be able to touch and feel it,” said Huang, explaining the continuing appeal of high-end shops.

With the opening of the Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe, and Versace shops at The Mall at Nustar, Cebuanos now have easier access to the latest fashion and bestsellers. They can also witness up close transitions in the fashion houses, like Kenzo’s push for a more refined aesthetic while maintaining the cool, contemporary look they’ve been known for, and Givenchy’s expected return to its original DNA of elegant, feminine pieces with a strong emphasis on craftsmanship under new creative director Sarah Burton.

SEE ALSO

COLUMNS, LIFESTYLE, ONLY ON INQ PLUS

A spectacular Old Girls’ homecoming

Versace at The Mall, Nustar Resort Cebu

Versace’s abundance of white spaces and see-through and reflective surfaces draws focus to its ultra-luxe items—from clothes and bags to footwear and timepieces.

Loewe’s fun, groovy interiors feel like a throwback to a more carefree and colorful time, with artworks by Albert York framed and displayed on its orange tiled walls, suggestive of its playful mix of retro and contemporary designs.

Kenzo has also brought in its new “Red Box” concept used in its other stores abroad, which highlights the key collections in the store. And while Givenchy’s smaller space may keep the brand from matching the assortment they are able to provide in other branches, the shop is sure to keep in stock its bestsellers as well as fresh pieces that reveal the fashion house’s new direction.

How this designer is continuing her grandma’s 90-year-old brand

BY NASTASHA VERAYO DE VILLA

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Contributed

Read Next

Talk of the Town: The 2025 plebiscite

For those who have never heard of the brand, it may seem like the “Romack” name lives in whispers, spoken in cherished tones among those in the know and, let’s face it, those who can afford it—like a benediction reserved purely for the favored.

Romack exudes exclusivity, boasting a largely generational clientele, from lolas to mothers to daughters and now apos whose families have been going to Tina Romack Lirag’s family for their fashion needs for decades. For some, that has been since her grandmother Pilar Ver Romack first put up New Yorker Gown Salon in 1935, to sell imported clothes. The shop was eventually renamed New Yorker PVR and, later, just Romack, and has since pivoted completely to made-to-order.