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Watsons wins Silver at 59th Anvil Awards for Himtayan campaign
Watsons, a leading health, wellness and beauty retailer, recently secured a Silver Award in the prestigious 59th Anvil Awards for its Himtayan campaign......»»
MullenLowe MARC wins top honor for PR Programs at 59th Anvil Awards
MullenLowe MARC, the public relations unit of MullenLowe TREYNA, took home 12 Anvils at the 59th Anvil Awards organized by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP)......»»
SM Group lauded for transparent reporting, social campaigns
The SM Group recently received 14 awards for public relations during the 59th Anvil Awards......»»
BARGE RAMOS: Exponent of modern Barong Tagalog
Barge Ramos was an Atenean who wanted to pursue a career in mass communication, for which he had ample academic preparation. An initial foray into media was an engagement at ABS-CBN with its studio located on Roxas Boulevard, a few strides away from the Ramos home in the old, genteel part of Pasay. Fate, however, took him to a different path. As a college student, he encouraged his female gangmates to have their dresses made in the shop of the then young and mod designer Christian Espiritu. “We would patronize him because we admired his approach to fashion. We would save our allowance to be able to go to him and order our outfits.” From patron-client relationship, Christian and Barge would become friends, and the designer who was very busy designing the ternos and gowns of then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, asked Barge if he was interested in joining his atelier as an apprentice. Barge accepted the offer and never looked back. A few weeks ago, Barge and I had dinner at Malate’s famed original Spanish restaurant, Casa Armas, where he gamely acquiesced to my unscheduled “interview” as I had realized that the Linggo ng Kasuotang Pilipino was forthcoming. This week then, as we celebrate Philippine costume, I am sharing with you my conversation with the gentleman couturier who dedicated his professional designing life to the preservation and continuous elevation of the Barong Tagalog as our national gentleman’s attire. Our conversation follows: DAILY TRIBUNE (DT): Coming from your apprenticeship with Christian Espiritu, tell me about how you got started on your own. BARGE RAMOS (BR): It was actually my friends who prodded me to open my first shop on Leon Guinto St. in Malate, several blocks away from Christian Espiritu’s atelier. Friends supported me as they were my first clients, plus a wedding job all at once. Being young and hopeful, I tried doing a few ready-to-wear lines for SM Makati and Cinderella, while maintaining a made-to-order client base. [caption id="attachment_190034" align="aligncenter" width="719"] BARGE Ramos[/caption] DT: What were your early projects involving indigenous Filipino costume? BR: In 1981, my fellow designers and I formed the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP), and for the two gala shows that year, we focused on Philippine-inspired fashion. I designed Barong-inspired tunics for women, photo silkscreened with t’nalak patterns and real t’nalak hip belts tied with gold like obi belts. Our honorary chairperson Imee Marcos bought a few of my pieces. Chairman of the board Ernest Santiago called me the next day, saying, “Barge, you’ve arrived.” DT: It’s interesting that you forged a creative path different from the other young designers. BR: That’s how I chose the path in my career, by finding new and newer ways of re-inventing the Barong Tagalog. As Joey Espino would tell in later years, “That’s your DNA.” I even did some cotton Barong Tunics for women, with matching loose cotton pants, an all-white collection, followed by a pastel-colored collection for SM Makati. DT: But you did not only focus on your designing. You also led some industry projects. You have done many things that other designers have not tried or even attempted to try. BR: The ‘80s and the ‘90s were my very active years in fashion. I became the third president of the FDAP and created “Bodyshots Modeling Competition,” originally an all-male competition in two levels, amateur and professional divisions. It was a big hit and it continued for several years with the FDAP at the helm. In 2008 I wrote a coffee table book, Pinoy Dressing Weaving Culture into Fashion, which was a condensed version of the fashion column I wrote for a Malaya newspaper, Pinoy Dressing, which ran for about three to four years. Anvil, the sister company of National Bookstore, published the book, which won a “Gintong Aklat” Award for the publisher. DT: How does one recognize a barong Tagalog by Barge Ramos? BR: I don’t have a signature Barge Ramos barong design, as my aesthetics have evolved through the years. A few years ago, Christian Espiritu told me, “You’re a good designer but you’re a late bloomer.” I really didn’t understand what he meant since Christian was always opinionated on everything. Perhaps he liked my later designs, comparing me to this and that designer. DT: Does designing run in your family? BR: There were two other designers among the Ramoses. One was Danilo Franco, whose father was a first cousin of my Dad. The second one was the late Boying Eustaquio, whose mother was my father’s sibling. DT: What has been your forte? What do you love creating? BR: We’ve made ternos and Barong tunics for women. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I did a line of ready-to-wear cotton Barong tunics and pants for SM Boutique Square in the ‘80s. DT: Any celebrity and VIP clients you are proud of? BR: We did several shirt jacks for the late President Ferdinand Marcos during the ‘80s. Imee Marcos, then an assemblywoman, bought a few of our barong tunics and skirts. We’ve done several barongs for Manny Pangilinan and former President Joseph Estrada, and then, when she was vice president, Gloria Arroyo. But most of our clients are very private persons, many of them businessmen, balikbayans and doctors. DT: How would you describe the evolution of the Filipiniana attire? BR: Filipiniana has always been there, but people mostly associated it with the rich and powerful in society. Nowadays, Filipiniana has seeped down to all levels of society and younger people are getting the hang of it and have interpreted it to fit their sub-culture. I’ve also observed that Filipinos living abroad appreciate it more, probably to assert their identity more in the face of other nationalities. DT: Finally, what can you say about the bolder, more imaginative interpretations of Filipiniana? BR: Fashion always has its quirks and oddities. Designers tend to push the limits and boundaries of Filipiniana in the attempt of creating contemporary looks and trends. One doesn’t have to “like” them but simply look at them and appreciate the designer’s creativity that went into them. Style is a matter of taste. But good taste can sometimes be difficult to ingrain in young minds. The post BARGE RAMOS: Exponent of modern Barong Tagalog appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Myrna Segismundo: Chef to ABS-CBN stars, bigwigs
All showbiz stars and talents, as well as journos and v/bloggers, who have attended a media conference at the ABS-CBS compound in South Triangle, QC, most likely may have done so at the cozy and classy restaurant on the 14th floor of the building there. But were they ever aware that the building is called the Eugenio Lopez Jr. Communication Center and the restaurant goes by the mysterious name 9501? If they knew those two names, would they also know the name Myrna Segismundo? Most likely, no unless the journos and v/bloggers who cover showbiz also go to lifestyle media events. Segismundo is one of the country’s foremost chefs of international renown. She was managing director of 9501 for almost 20 years,with the rank of vice president. Security Bank, the Zonta Club of Makati and a group known as Environs recently cited her among their Bravo Empowered Women Awards recipients. [caption id="attachment_166629" align="aligncenter" width="666"] CHEF Myrna Segismundo | Photograph Courtesy Of Relaxlangmom.com[/caption] First project The private 9501 restaurant was conceived in 1995 as the first project of the year, which is why it was given that name by then ABS-CBN head Gabby Lopez, a son of “Kapitan Geny,” who sat on top of the broadcast empire almost up to the time it lost its franchise (Gabby is legally Eugenio Lopez III and is now the chairman emeritus of ABS CBN). The 9501 corporate dining facility produced everything from weekday lunch buffets, formal haute cuisine dinners and board meeting meals to celebrity-studded press conferences. It was never opened to the public, only to ABS-CBN employees and their guests. In August this year, the restaurant ceased operations but went on to be a venue for media conferences with goods catered by other suppliers. That was where Hori7ons (the number stands for “s”) was launched as a K-pop-inspired boy group managed by ABS-CBN with a Korean company. The contract signing of transwoman talent KaladKaren was also held at 9501 weeks ago. Frequent diner Monchet Olives, Gabby Lopez’ s former chief executive, said in an interview that he has never forgotten the very first meal served at 9501 in 2001, with just Gabby Lopez and himself seated at table 001 in the corner: rack of lamb, potato purée reminiscent of Alain Ducasse, gazpacho and the famous quezo de bola cheesecake — prepared by Chef Miguel Yadao who was one of the chefs Segismundo took along with her to 9501 from another private restaurant, PCI Bank’s the Sign of the Anvil. “Sitting there in the corner, window glass on both sides, overlooking Quezon City… It was a sunny day, you could see Manila Bay. I said, wow, this is ABS-CBN,” Olives said. Gabby Lopez was a frequent diner at 9501, usually entertaining guests or meeting with company executives in the wine room. Segismundo, in another interview, remembered Lopez as a “flexible” diner who loved good wine and enjoyed Japanese, Italian, French and especially Mediterranean fare, and occasionally Filipino. The 9501 chefs could prepare any kind of cuisine, but Segismundo was most proud of the prominence of Filipino food there. Many of its most famous dishes came from the Sign of the Anvil, including the bestselling Turon, Quezo de Bola Cheesecake, Potato Bread and Adobo Paté. In fact, 9501’s bestsellers were almost all Filipino, including its Chicken and Pork adobo and Beef Tapa — “in the service of Filipino food,” she recalled in one interview. Segismundo started “dissecting and deconstructing” traditional Filipino dishes with her chefs during her Anvil days, creating her iconic Lechon Roulade (using suckling pig, not liempo) in 1995, years before the lechon roll trend came about. Lecturer on Filipino cuisine The Christmas parties of ABS-CBN executives and employees were held at the restaurant, all the parties of the bigwigs like the birthdays of Gabby Lopez and ABS-CBN top executive Freddie Garcia, and “birthdays ng lahat ng mga sikat,” as Olives once put it. A graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Management of the University of the Philippines, Segismundo began her professional career at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, USA. After several years, she went back to Manila and headed Sign of the Anvil. Under the sponsorship of the Department of Foreign Affairs, she has held demonstrations and lectures abroad to promote Filipino cuisine in countries like Spain, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Japan and more. She became the first ever Filipino lecturer on Filipino cuisine at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and Filipino presenter in the prestigious Madrid Fusion in Spain. She has written several books such as the The Party Cookbook and Philippine Cuisine – Home-cooked Recipes Wherever You May Be and co-authored Kulinarya (A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine). She is known for promoting heritage recipes while also transforming them into contemporary interpretations without losing their authentic taste. She was editor of Food Magazine of ABS-CBN and the founder of the Doreen Fernandez Food Writing Awards, an annual food writing competition which aims to encourage food writing and research in the country. Most importantly, she developed the Kulinarya Program of the Department of Tourism to teach the rural folk basic cooking, service and accounting concepts to help uplift their lives and their families. Tastes and flavors Instead of saying certain Filipino dishes are “like” a particular dish from a different country, Segismundo encourages Filipinos to describe them through tastes and flavors. “Talk about our vinegars, our citruses — ingredients that are indigenous to us. Dishes that are truly Filipino that will have a universal appeal.” Meanwhile, the other awardees of Security Bank and Zonta are Celia Baltazar-Elumba for Arts, Culture and Heritage; Lourdes Delos Reyes for Business and Entrepreneurship; Jennie Jocson for Education; Cheryll Ruth Soriano for Media and Public Affairs; Rebecca Angeles for Social Services; Maria Caterina Cristina Lopa for Sports; and Rose Maria Mendoza for STEM. Segismundo received her award for Tourism and Hospitality. A special recognition was also given to the Philippine women’s football team during the awards ceremonies held 27 July at the Security Bank Center in Ayala Avenue, Makati. The post Myrna Segismundo: Chef to ABS-CBN stars, bigwigs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PhilStar Media Group bags 2 silvers at Anvil Awards
The Philippine STAR’s 36th anniversary campaign, “The Next Page,” and BusinessWorld’s virtual economic forum, “Revolutions 2022: Navigating the Changed World,” bagged silver awards under the Public Relations Tool category at the Public Relations Society of the Philippines Gabi ng Parangal held on March 8 at Marriott Hotel Manila......»»
Common good investing
No, this is not about corporate social responsibility. CSR has been exploited in recent years to deodorize corporate behavior. Beyond press releases, conferences, and some Anvil awards, little sustainable good happened......»»
Raising independent learners
Subtitled “A Guide to Online and Offline Schooling,” this is the latest book by Ateneo professor Queena N. Lee-Chua from Anvil Publishing......»»
Anvil,& nbsp;Sen. Kiko Foundation bring smiles& nbsp;to Manila, Quezon City families
Sen. Kiko Pangilinan and the young Filipino Chinese entrepreneurs behind Anvil Business Club donated 2,000 bags of rice to urban poor families of barangays Tandang Sora, Kamuning, Santol, Kaunlaran, Sto. Niño and Sacred Heart of Quezon City and to Tondo district, Manila in cooperation with Mayor Joy Belmonte and Mayor Isko Moreno. .....»»
Leading broadcast company wins Silver Anvil for COVID-19 Response campaign
GMA Network, Inc. (GMA) was conferred a Silver Anvil at the recently concluded 56th Anvil Awards’ Gabi ng Parangal......»»
Metrobank Foundation annual report nominated for Platinum Anvil
The 2019 Annual Report of the Metrobank Foundation Inc. was nominated for the Platinum Anvil at the recent 56th Anvil Awards......»»
PayMaya’s workplace programs cited by LinkedIn, Anvil Awards
Digital financial services leader PayMaya has been cited by global technology firm LinkedIn and the local Anvil Awards for its trailblazing efforts in creating the workplace of the future today amid the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic......»»
PhilSTAR Media Group bags Anvils for anniversary campaign, BW series
Known to celebrate excellence of leading industry professionals, the 56th Anvil Awards recognized the outstanding performance of organizations that creatively and effectively adapted to the changes and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic......»»
Shenyang, Anvil Business Club support Quezon City
The city of Shenyang in northeast China and the Anvil Business Club recently donated a total of P45 million in cash and medical supplies to the Quezon City government led by Mayor Joy Belmonte as well several foundations and local government units......»»
Anvil donates P45 million to help in pandemic and calamity
Anvil Business Club, an association of young Filipino Chinese entrepreneurs who recognize the need to extend philanthropic help to our countrymen during these trying times of calamity and pandemic, made donations totaling to around P45 million worth of cash and medical supplies through several foundations and local government units. .....»»