Brigitte Bardot and Parisian luxury

The iconic spirit of French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot is immortalized in the latest collection of Parisian luxury leather accessories brand Lancel.

With Tessa Prieto-Valdes as the event host, Lancel unveiled its newest line of bags at its newly renovated boutique in Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

The drawstring Brigitte Bardot bag is the brand’s most sought-after design that is produced in limited pieces worldwide. In keeping with Bardot’s strong belief in nature and the environment, the Brigitte Bardot bag has been created using only organic textiles and fabrics.

Other collections included the Miss Adjani bag inspired by another well-known French actress, Isabelle Adjani. The bag is practical, soft and light with rounded metallic hardware.

Premier Flirt is a re-interpretation of another drawstring bag. It has been labeled as the symbol of Maison Lancel since 2006.

The brand also introduced the Paris Line, a vintage-inspired line of quilted bags with engraved metallic plates bearing Lancel’s address: 8 Place de l’Opéra.

The brand is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by Riviera Luxury Retailers Corp.

(Visit www.lancel.com)

Getting ‘stoked’ in Cebu

There was palpable excitement among the local board-riding community when STOKEDinc opened its doors in Cebu City. Food and wine flowed at the opening of the country’s pioneer board sports retailer at the Active Zone section of Ayala Malls in the fast-growing Cebu Business Park.

Kaz Onozawa, an enthusiast who anticipated the opening of the store in Cebu, remarked, “It’s really a great thing that the shop finally decided to open its doors in Cebu, where the sea plays a very big part in our lives. Before, we lacked a surf/ skate/ wake shop. We had to order from Manila, sometimes the US, Singapore or Hong Kong. Now, that we have the store here, it brought our toys closer to us.”

At the opening, STOKEDinc president JV Borromeo greeted his Cebuano guests and was happy to finally bring his brands and his love of the lifestyle to Cebu. He also brought his STOKEDinc family with him, including surf team riders Luke Landrigan (La Union), Carlito Nogalo and Nildie Blancada-Reitenbach (Siargao Island), as well the store’s art director Mumph Ruiz.

JV said, “Our shop here in Cebu is our way of pro-actively connecting with our Cebuano friends who share our love of the stoke. It is a venue for the board-riding community to have access to world-class apparel, gear, and equipment. The shop is also a place to immerse our customers in the socio-cultural aspects of board riding.”

The store proves its commitment to growing surfing, wakeboarding and skating community with its fully stocked 80-square-meter shop. The shop opening also coincided with the launched of the STOKEDinc Surf School in Siargao.

Mumph Ruiz said, “We’re always the instigator, never the imitator.”