Philippine high society’s version of a Hollywood ball happened last Saturday and the red carpet was rolled. In fact, I noticed that the Makati Shangri-La’s red carpet had a gold lining to it — a fitting tribute to the triple A listers that A, as in Anton San Diego, Irene Martel-Francisco and their Philippine Tatler team had gathered to celebrate its sizzling sixth year.
The visual appetizer was the greens — and I don’t mean the salad. Rustan’s creative wiz Nena Tantoco, channeling Edward Scissorhands, produced walls of leaves emblazoned with a giant T, my favorite letter.
Upon entering the expanse of the Rizal Ballroom — you could totally see it, smell it, taste it.
It was a fete for the nation’s PBB set — that’s power-bling-and-beauty, not Pinoy Big Brother, mind you.
The auction hosted by Johnny Litton and Tessa Prieto-Valdes was so much fun because the numbers went up, up and away!
But it was all for a good cause as the proceeds of the Vertu phone (which went to young philanthropist and art collector Patrick Reyno) and the IWC watch (only one in the Philippines, which has a map of the Philippines at the back) started a bidding war between Doris Ho and Andrew Tan.
I even tried to join in the bidding battle for the Lucerne-distributed timepiece but it would have meant I’d be poor for the rest of my life.
The other Tatler event partners like Nokia (I spotted France’s finest William Hamilton White with fiancée Angelique, and Nikka Abes with hubby Jorge) , Landco (chatted with Xerez-Burgos siblings on a break), HSBC and Mercedes Benz (hello to Felix Ang!) should have auctioned off their props and properties as well.
I’m sure there would have been takers — and givers.
Tatler and Supreme awards
Every year, Philippine Tatler hands out awards to society’s finest. This year, the awardees included YStyle’s Celine Lopez for Most Stylish, Georgina Wilson for Most Promising, Ramon Antonio for Creative Force, Maurice Arcache for bon vivant (“I was surprised — I really didn’t know I was gonna get an award!”), and a handful of the social set’s most notables.
My own set of awards includes Belle of the Ball — hands down, Pops Fernandez is top of the pops in a ravishing Joey Samson.
It seemed like my Celebrity Duets partner summoned the spirit of Audrey Hepburn — she looked divine!
Speaking of Divine, she had the most head-turning gown that night — Divine Lee was the Tatler Ball’s Best Dressed Lady, with Brazilian boyfriend Adriano Kartuliares as arm candy to boot.
Her gown was a Cary Santiago done in a white jersey material that looked a bit leathery with silver metallic appliqué — breathtaking, to say the least.
Designer Hall of Famers Inno Sotto and Rajo Laurel and Rhett Eala still reigned supreme, but a welcome change about this year’s Tatler Ball is that a lot of the ladies had their gowns made by the younger set, with a lot of stunning and fresh takes by Puey Quiñones, Hindy Tantoco, Jun Escario, Ivar Aseron and Joey Samson.
There's also a “Gatecrasher of the Year” award, but that’s another story.
But guys and dolls, let’s not be mean — as I always say — karma is now digital, and the blessings we now reap are because of our good deeds.
In the end, it is really about that.