Last Saturday, my instagram feed was filled with posts on the 8th Star Magic Ball, held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel. Within 24 hours, there were posts from fellow “stalkers” on who are the Best Dressed and the Worst Dressed. Everyone had something to say about the outfits that night, and well, let’s just say that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
An estimate of 28,000 IG posts are up, with #8thStarMagicBall hashtag
Which brings me to this blog post. Instead of focusing on the much-talked about outfits, I want to give credit to the stylists that made it happen that evening. I was once a stylist, and I know how much time and effort is spent on dressing up someone. Not only do stylists have to know the latest trends, they need to make sure the design and color scheme will look good on their client. They take into consideration other important accents — from the hairstyle and makeup, down to the accessories and nail polish, too! So much goes on behind the scenes that we fail to give credit where credit is due. I have an affinity to fellow stylists, isn’t it obvious? 😉
I have witnessed much of these stylists grow from being neophytes. Yes, I have been in the industry THAT long 😉 And I am proud to see them happily successful. So, here you go… meet some of the country’s most wanted fashion and celebrity stylists (in alphabetical order) who dressed up the country’s biggest stars that night. And while we’re at it, let me reminisce on how I met these talented bunch of creatives 😉 Who knows? You might also want to follow them on IG—just click on their names to go to their IG accounts.
Adrianne Concepcion is the Associate Style Editor for Garage Magazine, of which the Editor-in-Chief Rey Ilagan, is a good friend (and ex-colleague) of mine. Whoever Rey hires is surely someone with taste, for sure!
Client for the night: Ms. World 2014 Megan Young
I met AJ Alberto during my stint with Forever 21. He would usually be on his own, selecting items for pull-out. In our industry, the term “pull-out” means to literally pull-out merchandise from a store for a shoot. If I would happen to be in the store, I’d spend a few minutes with him to catch up and show him the latest merchandise. I remember AJ to be very “hin-hin” and approachable…
Clientele for the night: sisters Toni and Alex Gonzaga, Melissa Ricks, and Marion Aunor
Stylish sister-tandem Boop and Kimi Yap worked as interns under Sidney Yap (featured later on here). Other regular clients include Sarah Lahbati and Julia Barretto. I can’t remember exactly how I met them, but knowing how the Filipino-Chinese circle is small, we came up with a list of so many common friends that brought us closer.
Clientele for the night: Kim Chiu, Kaye Abad, Colleen Garcia, and Angelique Quinto
Joey Espiritu is not known in the publishing industry, but the fact that he takes care of Gerald Anderson’s styling needs gives him the credibility that he deserves. I met him when he was an intern for our “mother” (and my ninang) Biboy Arboleda, who now handles the marketing and promo for DreamScape under Deo Edrinal. DreamScape is responsible for most of ABS-CBN’s teleseryes.
Client for the night: Gerald Anderson
Katrina (or who we fondly call Kat) Cruz-Villanueva interned under Jenni Epperson, and worked her way up into the editorial ladder, and I had the opportunity to work with her—very relaxed and chill to work with, actually. And I am sure her clients love her for that, too!
Clientele for the night: Heart Evangelista, Iza Calzado, Erich Gonzales, and Ara Arida
This woman needs no further introduction. Liz Uy is Liz Uy! What more can I say? The sibling tandem (with Vince Uy and Laureen Uy) is a strong force that I haven’t seen for quite some time.
Clientele for the night: Julia Barretto and Bea Alonzo
Myrrh Lao To worked under Pam Quinones. That stint alone gives him the reputation and confidence as a stylist, who wouldn’t? He is very much in demand, and has maintained a freelance stylist status. I would bumped into him (and his stylist barkada) at the Forever 21 store, while they wait for their pull-out requests to be approved. They are a fun bunch to hang out with, and made me miss working for editorial 😉
Clientele for the night: Julia Montes, KZ Tandingan, Erin Ocampo, and K Brosas
I had the pleasure of working with Rainier Dagala when he was still the brand manager of Splash, Inc. I was still with Pink magazine, under ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc. back then. I met his styling partner-in-crime Em Millan along the way. Rain is now the fashion editor for Meg Magazine, while Em still pursued a career in marketing. Our talks would revolve around marketing, styling, branding, and imaging. It was definitely refreshing to engage in discussions on both the business-side and the creative. Meet #TeamRainXEm:
Team RainXEm took the effort to wear a color theme for the evening.
Clientele for the night: Kathryn Bernardo, Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Sam Concepcion, Yeng Constantino (with Yan Asuncion), and Miles Ocampo
You have to hand it to them. They took the extra effort to do a post on each of their celebrity client and give thanks to their “suppliers” and team.
Rex Atienza (center) is also an ex-colleague of mine from ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc. I first met him when he was part of the sales team at Tyler Glorietta 4, and he approached me just to compliment my shoes. I was flattered, of course! I am so proud of him and how he has put up a styling company—and what a big team he has!
Clientele for the night: Matteo Guidicelli, Jericho Rosales, Angelica Panganiban and John Lloyd Cruz, Sam Milby, Sharleen San Pedro, Nash Aguas, and Alexa Ilacad
And the last in my list is Sidney Yap… who is a fellow graduate of our alma mater, but waaaay younger. He is very passionate about his craft, and a really hard worker as well. I remember reading a feature on him, and how he would require his interns to remember every designer and what they are known for. Â Point well taken, as we all have to know the history of style and fashion to be able to appreciate and understand how it has evolved. Whenever I bumped into him, he would blurt out the designer and season my bag/shoes/dress would have come out —now, that’s the memory trait our school’s graduates are known for, haha!
Clientele for the night: Jodi Sta. Maria and Elisse Joson
So, there you go… the list of Celebrity Stylists that were part of my IG feed last Saturday. I am sure to have missed out some. Please feel free to add more to the list if you have.
To end the post, I am sure that you disagree with some of their choices. And maybe they agree with you, maybe they don’t. Just remember that it is a collaboration with the wearer (or their client), and that styling is a never ending evolution that is based on the lifestyle and taste of the person. And these people are taking us with them for the ride. So, sit back, enjoy, and learn from these creative bunch 😉
fashion, star magic ball, style, styling, stylists
