Thursday, November 24, 2011

No other word but FANTASTIC.

It's that time of the year again. Whatever little is left of my colonial mentality as handed down / inherited from my Baby-Boomer parents, naturally drained, thinned & filtered out by my years at Maryknoll & UP (or so I thought), go in into FULL THROB & THROTTLE at the sight of Bergdorf-Goodman's HOLIDAY WINDOWS 2011. 

It has been unveiled & it looks MIGHTY FANTASTIC!!!  The time of year I wish I lived in the States, on 5th Ave so I could stare & marvel at these windows EVERY single day!

My all-time favorite so far has always been BG's 2009's "Compendium of Curiosities" and  Macy's 2004 "Polar Express" windows...and then THIS. It just tops them all. 



HOLIDAY 2011 unveiled: "CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS"

"Artists & Models"
 “Artists and Models,” a diverse collection of wood and leather folk-art animals from all continents gathers together. The setting is a sculptor’s studio out of a folk tale, with an enormous assemblage of wooden creatures. A mannequin, dressed in a mélange of designers, assumes the role of sculptor, assisted by several antique wooden artists’ models and by a quartet of antic leather monkeys."- from prweb.com
photo by Ricky Zehavi


all photos below are from Habitually Chic: 







"Breaking the Ice"

“Breaking the Ice” invites viewers to a mid-afternoon arctic garden party whose guests include “couture plush” animals such as polar bears, a moose, an arctic mountain goat, a seal, and a of pair wolves. All the animals have been upholstered in luxe white textiles and appliquéd with icy crystals, beads, and sequins. A Baccarat chandelier adds luster. The party hostess is the focus of attention in her specially designed dress and one-of-a-kind cape, all by J. Mendel. Photo by Ricky Zehavi.




above photos are from Habitually Chic



"Brass Menagerie"


Built around a vintage collection of mixed-metal birds and jungle animals, “The Brass Menagerie” is set in a stylized tropical forest of metal and mirror and glimmers with leafy foliage of brass and steel. Within this forest is a fantasy recording studio, with vintage microphones and a brass "primate" jazz combo. A giant brass birdcage houses a surprise tenant, and the floor is covered several inches deep with a secret quantity of copper pennies. For this window, a special dress was created by Naeem Khan. photo above by Ricky Zehavi








"Testing the Waters"

Completely encrusted with hand-cut Italian mosaic tile, this intensely blue window is truly an undersea fantasy. A single mannequin, in a seashell dress from the Alexander McQueen Spring 2012 collection, appears to be floating amid a massive collection of mosaic sea creatures. Everything is highly patterned, with swirling textures and oceanic colors. “Testing the Waters” is quite the aquatic triumph as its production was 10 months in the making and is the most labor-intensive single window display in Bergdorf Goodman history.-frm prweb.com








"Teacher's Pets"

“Teacher’s Pets” takes viewers inside a 3-dimensional paper classroom filled with black and white paper animals, including a life-sized paper zebra, ostrich, panda bear, aardvark, white peacock, and more. As the “students” pose within a cascade of zoological textbooks, the teacher - dressed in a black and white lace Marchesa gown - presides over the paper bestiary. Noted New York calligrapher, Bernard Maisner, provided hand-lettered labels, in Latin, for all the animals.








Have you caught your breaths yet, ladies & gentlemen? I am absolutely palpitating from all the colors, textures, and visual overload that these holiday windows offer.  A much needed feast for the eyes for the tired & bored designer.  Ice crystals, sequined whale sharks, a "secret quantity of copper pennies"...leather monkeys....and ooooohhh ALL THAT PAPER!!! AMIDST "the Teacher" WEARING A MARCHESA GOWN!?!? *shakes head 100x*faint*

it's simply.....FAN.TAS.TIC. 



Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Beach Apartment: A Happy Place

When I have to think of a happy place, these are the 1st 3 random things that come to mind....(1) Dako Island in Siargao with my kumpares on a sunny day (2) Topshop or Forever 21 on Midnight Madness Sale, and (3) the apartment in La Union I share with fellow surfer friends. 

A simple row house made of brick, pebble & stone.  In front of our favorite surf break, where we can eat, sleep, laugh & boogie away from Manila :-) 

photo by Allen Aligam
sunblock, sunny day


photo by Allen Aligam




a place where I catch up w/ my girlfriends


where we store our trusty surfboards
photo by Allen Aligam

and nurse our cuts & bruises...
photo by Florence Hazel Batuyong



...to hangout w/ our li'l pals who sometimes come along for the trip :-)

(my friends' kids enjoying the puddles)

(and they can go as little as 2ft like Cadence here...) 
Photo by Allen Aligam



It is also a place to laugh while rinsing off after surfing...!
photo by Charlie Gomez

the typical look on a surfer's face after a good session





...a place to have birthday dinners...



and birthday lunches



..usually ending in food comas (i miss those days! who's the next celebrant pls!?!)


(Did you know you could bump into long-lost or newly discovered cousins here?)



 Not to mention the weird guests we get from all over the place....haha





Don't ask me how or why. That's just how it is. :-p




And the best part being, it cuts through a path like this...
photo by Charlie Gomez

photo by Dave Macias

leading right into this...
photo by Allen Aligam

photo by Dave Macias


and this. 
Buji Libarnes sunset-loggin'
(photo by Dibs Trofeo)




The beach apartment--- I share this space w/ my closest friends.  We practically don't have anything inside except our blankets & boards.  It can be nicer, yes, but in the meantime it will do. For me, it serves its purpose w/c is to give us shelter before & after we have  "danced with the ocean".  


Like what the master Architect Frank Lloyd Wright said in his book, The Natural House, 


“give me the luxuries of life and I will gladly do without the necessities.” 


If you ask me HOW I can improve it...now THAT's another story. In fact, it's the next one. Stay tuned. :-)