Bobson storms Baguio
By Walter Ang
August 1, 2001
Philippine Daily Inquirer
In the not-so-distant past summer months, parties and events were liberally sprinkled with "wet" themes. They had rain machines, foam machines and only heaven knows what other kinds of water producing machines. Now that the rainy season has begun and is well under way, the party climate is beginning to take on a different dynamic. The scene won't need artificial water sources anymore, but that certainly doesn't mean the energy levels have gone down the drains and open manholes.
Baguio City was besieged by real rain when 2bU! arrived to join in the fun of this school year's first splash of a party. Despite the continuous downpour, the city was enveloped in a lovely mist and the crisp cold air was perfectly appropriate for some serious revelry making. What better time to usher in another year of studying hard, and of course, partying hard?
Bobson Jeans was throwing an event for all the students and yuppies to kick off the school year. Baptized "Assemblage: A fusion of fashion and music", the clothing line was set to have a general assembly all of its own for the youth in the city. Manolet Tizon, Marketing Manager of Bobson met up with us when we arrived and brought us over to where the evening's event was going to be, Padi's Point.
Preparations
2bU! was able to hang out with the crew in the late afternoon as they were setting up for the show. The bar's rock lined walls and metal framed stage was being dressed up with large pieces of denim in different colors and shapes for the show. We chatted with exhibit coordinator Rhea as she oversaw the setting up the tables for an evening of henna tattooing, caricaturing and fortune telling. As the rain pelted the sidewalks, Manila based henna tattoo artist Rica Peron amused us with stories of how he got started doing his thing.
A few days before, the Assemblage production team had gone around schools to scout for amateur student models for the show. They found a couple of winning lookers in schools like University of Baguio, University of the Philippines, and Saint Louis University. Assisted by Padi's Point owner Alvin Cagungun, they took these students and threw them together with the Klik Shop Image Models (also students from the same schools) to rehearse for the upcoming fashion show.
The party scene
The drizzle notwithstanding, 2bU! saw firsthand how punctual young Baguio partyphiles were. A line had already formed by the entrance at 7pm. Talk about Filipino time being on time! The venue was packed by the time the party was ready to begin. There was a line outside the door that couldn't get in because they wouldn't fit inside anymore.
The Bobson Assemblage fashion show featured different looks young people can adapt for the rest of the school year. Segments featured the whole gamut of a young, active person's wardrobe from daily campus ensembles to hip, fun partywear. The show even had a segment called "Academic" where the models were made up to look like school geeks, complete with large, black plastic eyeglasses, but sporting preppy, well cut outfits.
The end of the fashion show segued to the evening's special guest star, actress Ara Mina, who had also attended the ribbon cutting with Mayor Bernardo Vergara at the new Bobson boutique in the Baguio Center Mall earlier that day. The audience was surely appreciative of her song numbers and casual interactions with some of the gentlemen in the crowd.
Post show dinner minglings and conversations revealed that director Larry Asistin was pleased with the over-all look of the show. As he should be since he had certainly made the effort to make it happen. He had brought over Jonathan Piao, and his assistant Gigi, both from Salon de Orient (Edmund, who gives great Cold Eucalyptus scalp massages, didn't come along). They'd traveled all the way from their Timog branch to do the make-up and styling with the new hit cosmetics line Anthony Braden.
The effort wasn't lost on the audience and they were pleased as well. When 2bU! asked one local his thoughts on the evening's events, he enthused, "This is one of the most happening places in the city these days, and this event is great!"
The booths were doing brisk business even until after the fashion show had long ended. We left as the party dwindled down, bundled in our jackets and with our arms tightly wrapped across our chests. Walking down the mist laden streets onto home and our warm beds.
Google Scan:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=91Q1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=bSUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=776%2C28908393