The secret Christmas at Adora

While maintaining its status as the best-kept secret among purist consumers in the mafia-like Filipino shopping community, Adora has developed a visual language with its customers who understand the reputation it is slowly but decisively creating.

The customer in this boutique department store in Greenbelt 5 Mall in Makati City notices, for instance, that Christmas has made its way into the Adora shopping experience. They notice how the window displays represent the spirit of Adora. There is no sensory onslaught or strong exclamation points proclaiming that Christmas has begun. In one swift glance, as the rain of hanging cloth and jewelry gently grazes the mannequins’ shoulders, the Adora customer knows that the dress in the window will be perfect to wear to the Christmas dinner this year. The small white feathers in the air quietly surrounding the elegant evening gowns lead into the inside, where the life-size tassels choreographed into corners of each department point the Adora shopper to new gift ideas. The Fiori di M rectangular vases now hold the most indescribable mistletoe there could ever be, and the glass tables now display golden twirls of mini-dresses posing as Christmas trees, which hint at the pistachio paper bags, now tied with tiny green tassels. All subtle touches only an Adora customer would spot. Nobody is dreaming of Christmas in Adora. It just suddenly is.

All these creative choices go beyond the usual décor. They are subtle tweaks quietly revealing a desirable look, sound and feel — an identity — all its own. The discerning Adora customer sees this, and realizes that their covert little place will be experienced by the rest of Manila. But for Christmas, they are quick to reposition themselves as the proud discoverers of this unprecedented combination of merchandise and its surroundings that is distinctively Adora.

Adora is located on the second floor of Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City. Log on to www.adora.ph or e-mail info@adora.ph.