Robinsons Design Lab 2nd cycle

One of the biggest project I handled from my previous work was organizing a young fashion designer search. It was inspired by the wildly popular Project Runway, of which I am a fan. I also believed and really pushed for the project because I realized that a lot of young Ilonggos do dress up and do make their own little, nice clothes; those creative ones I see at bars and clubs around Cosmo-Iloilo.

It was hard, the selection and gathering of contestants. I must admit I was a little worried that time and thinking what if it will all flop. What if the kiddos produces so much crap? We had plenty of detractors telling us it will not work. Basta it was nakakaloka on my part because everything was my brainchild and I only had the support of my team. Of course, I had Bo with me all the way but generally his help was on the show part. The organizing meant I had to mobilize people in the office and also a lot of my friends. It also required a lot of bribing, hair pulling and acrobatics. Or variations of those, you get my drift. We had the first challenge, did a fantastic show, had a good season and closed the competition with surprising results. Everybody happy. Except our detractors, of course.

I'm happy to say that Design Lab 2007 has produced the next generation of Ilonggo designers who will carry on the legacy of their predecesors who made some contribution in the development and history of Philippine fashion. What kind of fashion is altogether another topic we shall discuss in some future entry. Names like Jor-el Espina (some Mega and Preview feature), Mary Rose Adelie Pacificar (Imagine fashion ed), Peer Lynelle Banas (has a cult following for his dark sensibility), Florad John Gonzales, Angelica Tan (big buttons and ribbons signature), Marvin Bana-ag and the rest of their batch are making some wonderful designs. There's nowhere to go but up.

The picture above features the new batch of Design Lab contestants. New faces, new voices, new fashion vocabulary to watch out for.

(The one in military green is Rofel, the host of Design Lab and the one in white is Bo Parcon, the resident judge and critic of the contest)

O sya sige na nga!

You have seen this annoying face in here before. Yup, this is my booger friend Rofel. I always half-jokingly annoy him with my pronouncement, "Di ba baduy ka dati?". It never fails to make my day whenever I start picking up on him. Imagine seeing this guy transform into this snotty nosed kid fresh out of college into this marketing, PR whiz kid who makes things happen. I'm gagging now from all the lies and bullshit so let me stop. Hehehe!

Anyway, what do you know?! Look do we have here! The nerd...

He has a concert! Not really a concert concert but a real concert with sponsors, venue, ticket and a benefit ek-ek (for all I know it's just a ploy to be tax exempt, joke!hehehe). I beg your parrot? Yup, even I can't believe that he is having his own concert. Oh, the agony and pain of hearing his toad-like voice. Oh, the migraine from all the cheesyness and yucky script during audience interaction. Don't get me started on the clothes and costumes he'll wear. Que horror, que barbaridad! If you value your life and don't want to be emotionally scarred forever then I beg you to not watch this show.

But then again it does have a good motive in helping this poor kids from this organization. I mean, I presume all of you are not stone-hearted ogres who will not support such noble cause, right? There's our problem there. To watch or not to watch is the question.

I suggest you watch and be of help to the community but do bring some earplugs or maybe some reading materials like Tolstoy's 'War&Peace' or James Joyce's 'Ulysses'. I bet you those doorstoppers are more entertaining than this guy. If that doesn't work then we can always resort to throwing tomatoes, di bala?

Overpass at Gen. Luna St., Iloilo

Hmmm...


Is this progress or just a milking cow for corrupt government officials?