First was the Real Boracay Sunset Sessions which featured live performances by Danish/Swedish chill-out group Flipside. Seen taking pleasure in the down-tempo tunes while watching the famous Boracay sunset at the north beach part of the island were people who flew in from abroad like engaged couple and former Manila residents Thomas Ellspermann and Elaine Matawaran from Prague, David Jacob from Hong Kong, ex-pro basketball player Cid White from California, Ronald Passion, Kiko Escora, Norman and Astrud Crisologo, Jun Poblador, Hanna Yulo and Bianca Zobel.
Next was Slinky Year 4 at the beach front of Hey Jude which featured electronic dance music by trance masters Solarstone and Scott Mac. The party had around 2,000 party goers clad in beachwear. Seen on the elevated VIP area were Smart’s main man Boy Martirez with David Nugent and Addict Mobile endorsers Rossane Prieto, Tim Yap, Brent Javier and Nicole Hernandez.
Dancing till dawn were Raj Moreno, Borgy Manotoc, Ornussa and Darra Cadness, PJ Castro, Martin Ledesma, Ipe Cruz, Good Earth’s Anna Martha Moreno, Giselle Sityar, newlyweds Jose and Tin Moreno, couple Quad dela Paz and Tanya Moreno, Drew Arellano, Alicia Mayers and director Joey Reyes.
Closing the Bigfish Weekender 2005 was Hed Kandi, again at the beach front of Hey Jude which featured DJ Andy Norman of Team Kandi with top local deep house DJs Wendell Garcia and Erwin Edralin.
The crowd was more or less the same people who either stayed on the island or left then came back again for the party. Spotted dancing were star columnist Celine Lopez, Jenni Epperson, Mandala Spa’s Freida Dario, Ciara Sevilla, Hey Jude’s owner Jude Lee, Derrick Chiongbian, Paolo Prieto, Marcel Crespo, JP Bautista, Ash Mirpuri, Nikki Romero, Judge Primero, Faith Amigo, Candice Gil, Jessica Guevara and Hilary Favila.
What a way to party!
Themed "Palm Beach Party," Culte Femme designer Hindy Weber-Tantoco welcomed her guests as Manila’s top models strutted on the runway dressed in choice Culte Femme pieces such as breezy flowing tops, chic floor-length dresses and classic wrap bodices. The iconic caftan made a glorious comeback with Culte Femme in floral prints. Hindy got her inspiration from Palm Beach – marvelous leaf, animal and ethnic prints, bursting with vivid summer colors of pink, blue and green.
Partying continued well into the evening after the fashion show as DJ Steven Lovina, resident DJ of Government, supplied beats that charged up the crowd even further.
Seen enjoying the party were Rustan’s executives Gigi Mabanta, Jia Estrella, Joel Tantoco, Tech Tabuena and Pinky de Gracia, Embassy’s Tim Yap, Star writer Ipe Cruz, David Nugent, Jacques Dupasquier, Marco and Jackie Antonio, Ines Delgado, GP Reyes, Georgina Wilson, Raymond Gutierrez, designers Lulu Tan-Gan, Randy Ortiz and Ivarluski Aseron, Allure columnist Chechel Joson, Dennis Lustico, Shangri-La Makati’s GM Jarlath Lynch and PR manager Joy Wassmer and photographer Xander Angeles.
Guests also flocked to the adjacent VIP Room of Embassy which was converted into a one-day-only Culte Femme boutique brimming with the summer collection of clothes, shoes and accessories such as embellished bags, colorful linen sashes and straw fedoras.
The idea behind the second collection was to ask 10 of the world’s most exciting new designers to turn their interpretation of Absolut into an essential fashion item. For this collection, the accessory in question is a bag. The theme for each Absolut Label collection is defined by a word taken from the text on the front of the bottle, and this time that word is "famous." The Famous Collection has now resulted in a limited edition of 150 bags from each designer.
"Over the last 19 years, Absolut has established itself as a dynamic brand within the international fashion community, having instigated projects with such renowned designers as Gianni Versace, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney and Jean Paul Gaultier," says Michael Persson, senior marketing director at V&S Absolut Spirits in Stockholm. "But Absolut Label is one of the projects that allows us to inspire and promote new talents emerging within the industry. The results are clever and surprising. Absolut Label The Famous Collection is not only a series of beautifully designed, covetable bags; it also amounts to a multi-faceted consideration of the nature of global celebrity in 2005 on what it means to be as instantly recognizable as the Absolut bottle itself."
Kate Torralba presented the work of Germany’s Klein while Candy Reyes showed off the bag from Hailwood. Yael Buencamino presented Piersanti’s characteristically elegant crocheted bag that is shaped like a wing and sits close to the shoulder. Marcus Schmidt presented the bag from Henrik Vibskov, a white cotton doctor’s bag with aluminum detailing, designed to hold all kinds of medicine bottles and the famous Absolut bottle.
Cebuano designer Jun Escario showed off the Aksu creation, an elegantly simple, sling-like bag. Astrud Crisologo presented Uendi’s distressed-denim drawstring bag with hand-stitched stars and mother- of-pearl detail.
Reena Ayuyao showed off the Franco sisters’ chic white canvas bag decorated with ceramic squares and a clasp shaped like the Absolut bottle. Kathy Webb presented the work of Siniouchkina, a multi-functional little bag that transforms into (in Siniouchkina’s own words) "an ‘over-the-top’ accessory." Dena Devries presented the only Asian creation made by Mei Hui Liu. Liu has come up with a series of shopping bags created from a variety of vintage fabrics and hand-customized by the designer herself. Anton Barretto presented Siereks’ laundry bag, arranging a large zip in the shape of an Absolut bottle beneath the handle.