A cool dog day afternoon with Swatch

If you tell me that there will be pretty pets and new watches for dog lovers at the fabulous roof deck of the Swatch & Swatch Building in San Lorenzo Village, I will be there faster than you can bark. And no, you can’t make me sit.

It was a cool dog day afternoon when the Swatch spring-summer 2015 collection was launched.

Swatch's Virgie Ramos chose multi-talented designer Jerome Lorico to handle the upcoming series of launch events. “Jerome always has an ingenious way of understanding concepts and also has a sense of adventure in executing them,” she says. “Those are great assets to have when you are working with a brand like Swatch. For this first launch, the Swatch French Bulldog, Andy Baby, was his inspiration. That’s how the idea of the doggie event was born.”

Lorico was the grand-prize winner of the Philippine STAR and Swatch Chinese New Year Competition for the Year of the Tiger in 2010. He has won several awards here and internationally. Since then, he has done special projects for Swatch and apprenticed at Alexander McQueen in London. He is delighted to be back doing special projects for “my mentor, benefactor and all, Tita Virgie!” When asked about the very successful My Pet & Me party, Lorico says, “It’s not every day that people and animals can have fun at the same time and space. Swatch made that possible and even elevated the experience by setting up a specially curated roof deck against a backdrop of an urban setting and the idyllic Makati skyline. It was so cool, so vibrant, so Swatch! I love it!”

Guests were spotted wearing watches from the Swatch spring-summer 2015 collection with matching picnic casual garb styled by Lorico.

Pet owners and their pets sat beside each other, enjoying the cool breeze.  The humans feasted on Margarita Fores’ pasta, grilled sandwiches, corndogs, sweets and other snacks with healthy and fresh juice drinks, while their pet companions had lots to choose from at the buffet spread filled with treats from Whole Pet Kitchen.

Alyanna Martinez had her two dogs in a stroller as she was busy feeding them. One was her Poodle Chanel and the other a mixed-breed dog she adopted from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), whom she named Clifford.

 “I did some volunteer work at PAWS over the holidays and I saw Clifford, who had been at the shelter for over two years,” said Alyanna. “I said I would take him just to be groomed. I did get him groomed and I also told PAWS that I was not returning him anymore.”

At the party Clifford was a happy doggy with his fur sibling Chanel.

Other guests — humans and their pets — raved about just how lucky they were to have special bonding time with each other at the event — as well as with other pet and human “families.”

Here’s what they had to say:

Trish Panlilio, entrepreneur —“It was a uniquely pleasant afternoon being with other pets and pet owners meeting other breeds, and having my Bulldogs Pudge and Leon curiously socializing. The roofdeck ambience was perfect, and it’s an event I look forward to attending again.”

Gee Plamenco, photographer — “As pet parents, there’s nothing more heartwarming than to see a community that celebrates the love for animals and what joy they bring to people, especially to their owners. This is such an amazing event by Swatch. It’s not only a social gathering, but it’s an opportunity for you to also see people’s real personalities when they’re with their pets.”

Will Mueco, active wear designer— “I had a great time with Swatch’s Pet & Me event! It goes to show how our society cares for and loves our pets, and we go the extra mile to give them the best time they could have with us.”

Dr. Homer Cudel, dermatologist — “It was great that our pets could have social activities like their owners. I believe our pets had as much fun as we did! Thanks to the creative team behind the Swatch event for this.”

Boom Sason, fashion designer —“We had a lot of fun! Very informative too!  And the food was so yummy both for the dogs and us.”

Victor Basa, model, host  and actor — “The Swatch Pet day was so much fun. It was nice spending a sunny day with our dogs, Liempo and Pritchon. Great time with good company. Thank you, Swatch!”

Mark Bumgarner, fashion designer — “My experience was super! Something different and wholesome. It wasn’t forced and was enjoyable for everyone, including the dogs. Would love to attend more events like it. And the watches were amazing!”

Charina Sarte, fashion designer — “Swatch My Pet & Me should be an annual event! The cutest!”