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Archive for June, 2009

Lunch at KUDAN

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Kudan is the area where the residence of the Philippine ambassador is. My Lolo bought the property and the house for the Philippine government in 1944. It was built in 1934. My Lolo bought it from the father of Yoko Ono (the wife of John Lennon, for those reading this who are too young to know who The Beatles were. LOL!). In fact, Yoko Ono grew up in that house. My family lived there for a number of years. My uncles and aunts have so many cherished memories of Kudan.

We were invited by the current Philippine Ambassador for a lovely lunch. We heard that the Philippine government has instructed to sell the property but is being held back. The house is now being considered as a heritage site because of its history. My family wanted to see it before it disappears. I hope it does not get demolished and turned into another condominium!

We all had a fantastic time and so many fond and beautiful memories in Kudan!

: This is my beautiful Lola Betty Castillo Laurel. She is 90 years old! Still very strong and loves to travel.

: We’re all staying at the Imperial hotel. I love the flowers; it’s so summer!

: A chandelier detail in the elevator. The hotel was designed by the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

: Lola and my Tita Ditas Laurel en route to the Kudan.

: My Tita Tina and I on the bus ride.

: This is me and my Ninong Tony.

: Here we are being greeted by the Philippine Ambassador, Domingo Siazon.

: The facade of Kudan.

: The facade of Kudan.

: My lola and all 8 of her children.

A bust of my great-grandfather is in the main hallway.

The main living room.

One of the dining rooms. The place is HUGE!

The outside terrace.

The gardens.

My Lolo planted a lot of trees. He loved gardening.

The back side of the house.

Me striking a pose!

Me and my Lola Betty.

Yakitori for lunch.

The spread prepared by the wife of the ambassador.

A toast to my Lola!

My plate!

Summer fruits for dessert. Cherries are in season.

Beautiful cherries.

A light moment during lunch.

HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: family, Fashion Insider, food, grandfather, japan, Japanese ambassador, jose laurel III, kudan, Laurel family, rajo laurel, travel
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My Tokyo Escape!

Friday, June 26th, 2009

I am in Tokyo again! I am here for a family reunion of sorts. My Lolo was the ambassador here and we all have beautiful memories of Japan. I had to follow all of them due to my Face Off show. My flight was a bit delayed due to the rain, but thankfully we arrived safely and everything was fine and dandy. I took PAL again, but this time it was a smaller plane so I did not get to ride the new sassy seats. My muse and favorite travel companion Leica left ahead of me so all I had to do was take the bus to the city and we started to ROCK Tokyo! NAKS!

I will be here for a few days and my wish is to see the girl from the blog “Sea of Shoes.” I know she is here, so if I see her that would be amazing! I will be here for 5 days so expect a couple more Japan entries!

It was rainy and cloudy minutes before we left.

The Makati skyline.

Loving the new departure card! So much more efficient. I always wondered why they needed all those other information.

My fave roomie....Leica Carpo!

Leica and my sister Gela preparing for a night out in Tokyo.

First stop....Don Quixote, an all night store in Roppongi. This store has something for everyone.

Met up with my friend Jeff, who sadly will be leaving Japan for Manila very soon! NO MORE JEFF JAPAN! I will miss him!

I was starving so I had some yummy YAKINIKU at this place!

Give me grilled meat anytime! LOL!

Ended back in Don Quixote and tried these "girls" for size! LOL!

HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: family, Fashion Insider, food, friends, japan, leica carpo, rajo laurel, tokyo, travel
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FACE OFF!

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Last night was our show FACE OFF! It was such a magical experience. I found it really special, as you do not get to do shows at the Cultural Center of the Philippines! The music was dreamy – can you imagine a 50-piece orchestra as the musical background for your collection? BONGGA DIBA!

Rhett and Randy did a fantastic job! Everyone was really true to themselves and they both presented a spectacular collection. I, for one, was extremely proud of my team as we did a great job of translating my vision into a reality. The results were a dreamy collection inspired by the BALLET! It’s fitting that the show would be held at the CCP for me, as the home of the Philippine Ballet Theater is there. The photos in this entry are the background and pre-prod before my show. I loved my collection and I was so happy that I was part of this truly special production.

(Watch the special Style Bible videos of all three collections by clicking on the links below!)

FACE OFF: Rajo Laurel

FACE OFF: Rhett Eala

FACE OFF: Randy Ortiz

: The makeup was designed by my sister Gela Laurel, but since she was in Japan, Eric Maningat executed the makeup.

: This is look 1: layered pieces over our “nijinsky” pants.

: Joey Mead ended up wearing this.

: Look 11: Thoughts on a dancer off duty.

One of the evening gowns in the collection, inspired by Divas like Margot Fonteyn or Madame Gres.

The venue! The show was held in the lobby of the CCP.

Another view of the ramp during rehearsals.

My dear friend Randy Ortiz and one his muses Che-Chel Joson.

My dear friend Randy Ortiz and Chechel Joson, one of his muses.

Makeup being done. This model is Mira; I LOOOOOOOOOVE her face!

I did a photo shoot a the back for my website. rajolaurel.com

I did a photo shoot at the back for my website: rajolaurel.com

We were also celebrating the 25th anniversary of one of the most beloved fashion directors, Jackie Aquino! Congratulations, Jackie! (Jackie is the man in black, extreme left.)

Look one worn by Grace Tagle.

Models in repose.

Ria Bolivar in fighting form!

Model genaratiions! Marina Benipayo in Randy Oritz and the daugher of Desiree Verdadero Abesamis in Rhett Eala.

Model generations! Marina Benipayo in Randy Ortiz and the daughter of Desiree Verdadero-Abesamis in Rhett Eala.

I opened my show for the Samsung segment with my insect collection from RAJORED!

A few minutes before the show!

My menswear. Inspired by how Nix dresses up!

Our hosts for the night! Maurice Arcache and Tessa Valdes.

Models waiting for their cue.

Me taking my bow! Thank you for everyone who came and texted, facebooked, emailed me their good wishes! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Me taking my bow! Thank you to everyone who came and texted, Facebooked, emailed me their good wishes! I LOVE YOU ALL!

HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: ballet, ccp, face off, Fashion Insider, Fashion Show, rajo laurel, randy ortiz, rhett eala
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Mermaids in Manila!

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

I love mermaids! I am sure all of you played the mermaid/merman/shokoy (LOL!) fantasy as a child! Well… I discovered them recently in Manila! When I was invited to the anniversary party of Dennis and Tessa Valdes, they treated us to a live performance of lovely mermaids! The show is ongoing for a couple more weeks at the Manila Ocean Park!

It was really a sight to behold! The “sirenas” swim amidst the manta and the sharks! A couple of times the mermaids would almost bump into the shark and this gave everyone a bit of a scare. I encourage you to come with your entire family to the ocean park! It’s right near the Luneta Grandstand in Manila! It’s really worth the trip. An educational experience for everyone. Plus, you get to see live mermaids! LOL!

The green mermaid came out first! She was very athletic.

A couple of loop-the-loops!

Then the red mermaid came out. She was the strongest swimmer!

More loops to the music of an acoustic version of "Dancing queen!" I kid you not!

Then all the mermaids came out and did a ring formation.

My girls Patrice, Leica and Malu posing with the mermaids! CRACK!

The fishes in the giant aquarium were quite impressive! The diversity was really evident. Like this giant Manta! I love how it looks like its smiling.

The fishes in the giant aquarium were quite impressive! The diversity was really evident, like with this giant Manta! I love how it looks like it's smiling.

A fierce-looking dragon fish!

A stone fish. They look disdainful, NO?

I forgot what this fish is called, but I had a history teacher that looked like this fish! LOL!

This horned fish was one of my favorites! I love the color and the pattern of its skin. The face is almost alien.

HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: Fashion Insider, fish, manila ocean park, party, rajo laurel, under the sea, wedding anniversary
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FACE OFF: Makeup!

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Firstly, today is my one year anniversary of Blogging! I am cooking something really special for this occasion, so keep on visiting my blog and you will soon find out what’s in it for you, my readers! LOL! Today is also the big fashion gala called FACE OFF! Together with my dear friends Rhett Eala & Randy Ortiz, I will be duking it out in the only we way we know how! On the catwalk! LOL! Seriously though, I am very fond of my friends and I wish all of us luck and lots of love! I wish I could invite all of you my readers, but alas, the venue can’t fit us all in!

Anyhoo! I wanted to share with you the makeup of the collection. The first is the makeup for the Main collection which is called “The Ballet.” The look I was going for is a something very pale with interest on the eyes. I wanted a pale pink and gold coloring. The effect I was looking for is FRESHNESS. For this show, my makeup will be done by the very talented Eric Maningat.

Makeup Peg

There will also be a special segment for Samsung, who is the main presenter, so I wanted something more sinister and dramatic. I will be asking Eric to really deepen the eyes and make it almost villain-like. LOL!

Samsung Peg 1

The show is like 8 hours away! Wish us all luck!
HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: face off, Fashion Insider, Fashion Show, makeup, rajo laurel, randy ortiz, rhett eala, sketch
Posted in Fashion Insider | 4 Comments »

My Life as a Judge

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Many thanks to my friend Liza Ilarde of The Fashpack for texting me about the article that I wrote for the Sunday Inquirer Magazine last Sunday June 21. If not for her, I would not have been able to know that my article came out. If feels like I wrote it so long ago. I just want to share with all of you my experience and my thoughts on being a judge on Project Runway Philippines in my article entitled “My Life as a Judge.” (Click the link to see it.)

Excerpt from article: "Just how do I judge beauty contests, people ask. By gut instincts depending on what makes me respond positively, I tell them. I also judge from the given brief, from the rationale behind each competition. If it’s a beauty contest, I look for what appeals to me. I look for balance in body proportion and features that make me sit up and take notice. For the most part I look for personality. Looks can only get you so far, but a fantastic personality and a great attitude can really take you places."

BIG HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: article, Fashion Insider, judge, project runway philippines, rajo laurel, writing
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The Wedding of the Pirate and the Sea Princess!

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

15 years ago, Dennis and Tessa Valdes got married. Their wedding is the stuff of legends! The theme of their wedding was Medieval and they had everyone in Manila going agog and some aghast. I remember that it was a mad scramble for everyone to get costumes. I was just starting my designing then and I was fortunate enough to have done some of the guests attending the wedding.

Fast forward today….The couple…(Hmmm actually maybe Tessa more) wanted to celebrate their anniversary in the most unique manner. When I received the invitation to the party, I knew that I had to clear out my day because this was something I would not want to miss. The wedding had an “under the sea” theme and Tessa and Dennis really made this party truly special and extra memorable for everyone! It was one of the most unique parties that I have ever been too! My wish for Tessa & Dennis is to continue inspiring others how to live. They live their lives truly to the fullest! This is their mantra. Thank you for making me a part of this!

: How lucky was I to have three GORGEOUS dates to the party! My dear friends fashion designer Patrice Ramos-Diaz, model/actress/TV host Teresa Herrera and glamazon/athlete/PR maven Leica Carpo. You should have seen the people move aside when these women strode to the venue. They literally stopped people in their tracks! AMAZING!

: Tessa & Dennis decided to have their anniversary party at the Manila Ocean Park. I have never been there so I was really excited. This is the top of the dome of the park.

: Tessa in her sea princess gown. I was inspired by mermaids and Venus coming out of the shell. Her shell turns into a peplum after the ceremony.

: A back view of the dress: I think we used more than 3 thousand “scales” for the skirt.

: Dennis Valdes! He is the PIRATE! All thumbs up indeed!

: Tessa and her beautiful daughters…Anika and Athena.

: These young men are my cousins! Watch out, young ladies of Manila! Prepare to be enthralled!

: The ocean park is really a sight to behold! I am so happy that we have one in Manila! I will do a separate entry for this.

: This is Dennis and Tessa’s amazing wedding cake! I love the details that they did! It was magical!

: The party came in two parts: first, they had their renewal of vows, and then they had the dinner inside the main hall of the aquarium. The fish were surrounding us the whole night.

: The guests were led to the giant tube so that we could get the full under the sea experience. Here are lovely ladies Grace Poe, Teenee Chan and Malu Gamboa. with Anna Angara and JR Isaac. All having the best time!

: Tessa also had live Mermaids and Mermen lined up for our photo entertainment!

: I am always happy to see hot looking Mermen!

: I had to take photos with the under these under the sea creatures. The production design was utterly amazing!

: Tessa started the party with some fancy sing-along games! A Tessa & Dennis party is never complete if there are no games! The prizes this year were really amazing! From Timex watches to Nokia cell phones, and even a Discovery Shores Boracay weekend get away! The food was catered by Cibo. I thought that Tessa was kidding when she said that she spent so much on every tiny detail for the wedding that all she had budget for the food was Monggo soup and Dilis! When the food came out, I was laughing so hard because it was the most classy Dilis and monggo soup that I have ever had in my entire life! They were other food though as you can always trust Margarita Fores to give you the best spreads in the land!

: Tessa in her mermaid costume! She was supposed to swim inside the AQUARIUM!!! OMG! The thing was, she caught a cold that day and was advised by her doctor to pass on swimming inside the tank. She decided to still wear the costume though. Here she is assisted by her dear friend Tim Yap as they hosted the rest of the evening. Take note of her Mermen entourage. LOL!

: Everyone came home with a prize! Nix shows off the new Nokia phone that he won! Actually, everyone won a NOKIA phone that night! LOL! Now how is that for a party souvenir!

The view from my table! We all had an amazing time! May Dennis and Tessa's marriage flourish for another 150 years!

TIGHT HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: dennis valdez, Fashion Insider, friends, party, rajo laurel, tessa prieto-valdez, under the sea, wedding anniversary
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Design Lab!

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

I am extremely honored each time I am asked to be a judge. It’s cool how my humble opinion matters. I was asked recently to be a judge for a local fashion design competition called Design Lab. This competition is spearheaded by the Robinson’s mall in Iloilo. It’s so moving how the community in Iloilo is really helping their young designers. The mall even gave them a space to show and sell their designs at an almost free rent! I think this should be followed by our other provinces and other business institutions.

The competing designers were narrowed down to four and all of them had to design and make 4 garments consisting of one evening, one menswear and two other female garments. They were given the brief to modernize local Ilonggo material including hablon and the like.

I am always so happy when I see young designers showing me their clothes because it brings me back to the day when I too was a young designer. I never shoot a young designer down when I am giving a critique; I am from the “Paula Abdul” side of judging! LOL! Seriously though, I always find the good thing in the work and give them my honest opinion. They may or may not take the advice, but it’s always good to be open. Often, it is I who end up learning from these young designers.

I had a great time seeing the works of Jennifer Salazar, Mike Sorilla, Reche Segura and D-John Clement. I do hope to see more of their work in the future.

My co-judges for the contest. Artist and fashion designer Patty Eustaquio, stylish stylist Daryl Chang and Ms. Minda Carpio VP for leasing of Robinson's Land Corp.

This is the 2nd prize winners work Mike Sorilla. He did a very cohesive collection, some pieces were ill fitting though and he lost points on that.

This is the 2nd prize winner's work. His name is Mike Sorilla. He did a very cohesive collection; some pieces were ill-fitting though and he lost points on that.

This is the 4th prize winners work Jennifer Salazar. She was suppose to back out of the contest and I told her not to. She had nothing to loose and everything to gain. I always say that with each fashion show that you do, you only get better.

This is the 4th prize winner Jennifer Salazar's work. She was supposed to back out of the contest and I told her not to. She had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I always say that with each fashion show that you do, you only get better.

This was designed by D-John Clement. He used Hablon for most of his designs. I like his coloring and he surprised the audience by his "transformations" like this over skirt becoming a bag.

This was designed by D-John Clement. He used Hablon for most of his designs. like his coloring and the fact that he surprised the audience by his "transformations," like this over skirt becoming a bag.

D-John evening look....which also tranformed into...

A disco hot-pant jumpsuit! He was inspired by gift-wrapping ribbons at National Bookstore! He eventually won first place!

This is Reche Seguras design. Inspired by Fiesta's. It was quite festive indeed but a bit on the costume- side.

This is Reche Seguras' design, which was inspired by fiestas. It was quite festive indeed, but a bit on the costumey side.

Reche's evening wear look. I found his headpieces interesting, although he severely needs advice on editing and coloring.

This is Reche. He has the most unusual speaking voice. Small squeeky and almost like a disney character, think minnie mouse fused with Donal duck! I kid you not! I had to ask him if it was his real voice! The thing with Reche is that he did everything in his collection, from the sewing and cutting. Unlike the rest of the designers who had someone tailor the collection for them. I told him to join Project runway Philippines in the next season!

This is Reche. He has the most unusual speaking voice. Small, squeaky and almost like a Disney character: think Minnie Mouse fused with Donald Duck! I kid you not! I had to ask him if it was his real voice! The thing with Reche is that he did everything in his collection, from the sewing and cutting, unlike the rest of the designers who had someone tailor the collection for them. I told him to join Project Runway Philippines in the next season!

This is D-John Clement, he won 1st place! He is a nursing student. I think he will go a long way if he continues his passion.

This is D-John Clement, who won 1st place! He is a nursing student. I think he will go a long way if he continues his passion.

This is me hamming up with the trophy. It was heavy by the way!

This is me hamming it up with the trophy. It was heavy by the way!

Here I am giving the 1st prize to D-John. I found his name so cool!

D-John and his collection.

This was last years winner Jet Salcedo. He is an avid reader of this blog so I promised him that I would feature him!

This is last year's winner, Jet Salcedo. He is an avid reader of this blog so I promised him that I would feature him!

HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: fashion design, Fashion Insider, iloilo, judging, rajo laurel, young designers of iloilo
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Fun & Fab Finds!

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

When I do get the chance to go out of town, I am always on the lookout for fabulous treasures. It’s not often that I see them, but every now and then, I get lucky.

I was riding with my friends to the local UKAY-UKAY place and my eyes darted to these busts on the road. It took a while to get someone to open the gates, but when they did, I zeroed in on the wooden heads on the ledge. I began my negotiations and ended up with a head and half a foot for 2 thousand Pesos. I found that a good deal since the old lady started the price at like 9K! OMG!

This caught my eye and we had to stop!

We entered the tin shack to find these beauties!

Some people get freaked out by this but I just love it!

I loved the heads! I wanted to get more but told myself just to get one.

This was the head I ended up with. She is a dream!

Then we proceeded to do some vintaging. Vintaging in Iloilo is really fun and quite civilized; for starters, it’s air-conditioned!!! Secondly, it’s like well arranged per color and per kind of clothing, like in one area it’s all red shirts or all printed skirts.

It was fun and amazing! Daryl Chang was able to get a really fantastic Paul & Joe dress for like 100 Pesos and a major Jean Paul Gaultier jacket for like 150 Pesos! AMAZING! Sorry I was not able to take photos, as I was busy vintaging myself. LOL!

Thirdly, the UKAY place is in a MALL! LOL! When you’re in ILOILO, have someone drop you off at the Marymart Mall and just look for the UKAY signs! LOL! There are 2: one on the first level and one on the topmost level! When you get tired, there is a yummy batchoy (pork soup with noodles) place at the same mall that will fill your hearts and stomachs.

We then proceded to the Robinson’s mall to visit the YDI (Young Designers of Iloilo) store in the mall. I am so happy that Robinson’s is doing this. It’s so wonderful. I met a couple of very talented designers on this trip and they all inspired me.

At the Robinson's mall we met some really cool young designers. This is Anna she made her own zipper top.

At the Robinson's mall, we met some really cool young designers. This is Anna, who made her own zipper top.

Loved the shoes of Patty, happy to note that its local and you can find it in Crossings! Hearing so much about crossings but never had the chance to visit! Lots of good finds are there to be discovered. Teresa Herrerra swears by Crossings and so does Jenny Epperson. Must visit soon!

Loved the shoes of Patty. I'm happy to note that it's local and you can find it in The Ramp at Crossings! Hearing so much about Crossings but never had the chance to visit! Lots of good finds are there to be discovered. Teresa Herrera swears by Crossings and so does Jenni Epperson. Must visit soon!

The booth of the YDI!

AHH...To be young and driven!

This is one of the more promising young designer I met: Jor-el espina. I liked his sensibilities.

HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: Fashion Insider, iloilo, rajo laurel, shopping, ukay-ukay, vintage finds, young designers of iloilo
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Alluring Iloilo!

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

I have a soft place in my heart for Iloilo. I have many wonderful friends from there and I always feel at home each time I visit. The Ilonggo’s hospitality is probably the warmest I have felt in the country. I was invited by Robinson’s mall for their Design Lab series. It’s a local fashion design competition that helps promote the local weaves of the province, as well as expose the talents of their young designers. The contest is already on its third year and it seems to get better and better each year.

Iloilo is home to many of our talented young designers, like Eric de Los Santos who is making waves in Manila. In fact, his dress is on the June 2009 cover of Preview. It is also the home base of the Louis Claparols, another very talented fashion designer. I flew in on a really beautiful day and totally enjoyed myself. Here is a pictionary of my day in Iloilo.

: The rain suddenly stopped when we landed at the brand new airport of Iloilo! I was so impressed with their airport; it’s like a mini-version of Manila! Sigh…I wish the rest of the provinces would improve their local airports.

: Inside the terminal!

: We then headed of to have an early lunch at Breakthrough. It is the best seafood restaurant in the province!

Some art-chorva shots. LOL!

Bumped into some fine super fashion ladies in the airport who were also judging the design contest. Artist and fashion designer Patty Eustaquio and Super Stylish-FIERCE to the nth degree Daryl Chang. FYI: They were supposed to fly home that night, but I convinced them to stay the whole day. We had such a fantastic time.