This year I will be in Manila whooping it up with my 87 and 92 year old parents and my husband Ken! We also have friends from Tokyo visiting and cooking on New Years day, which is the Japanese tradition. I will for sure watch the ball drop at Times Square 12 hours later! Happy New Year!
The opening of two new Natori boutiques at Rustan’s in Manila (like we did at Saks) was a thrill for me personally. Although the boutique was meant primarily for lingerie, we decided to have a trunk show of our ready-to-wear and our couture caftans to test the waters! Bingo—the ladies scooped up all the caftans plus they begged to buy the ready-to-wear samples for weddings and parties they would attend the same week. I could not help but indulge everyone to what they wanted plus so many special orders! Manila women love love to shop and love to dress up…my kind of lady!! And in addition they were scooping up the jewelry samples we had for the show as well!
Definitely no recession in Manila… I can’t wait to go back. I had a great time selling in this fabulous new boutique designed by my good friend Maja Olivares Co! Now, a new ready-to-wear boutique is slated to open in three months!!
-Josie
We are sad not be with our son, Kenneth, daughter-in-law Anika and our adorable grandson Cruzzie for Thanksgiving… 12,000 miles away in Manila, my husband Ken and I will try to simulate the holiday (even though it doesn’t exist here) with my family. We are cooking turkey as well as duck and poached salmon. Luckily we found a gourmet store that is one of the few places to have turkey and brussel sprouts! It will be different, but in a way it is wonderful to be with my 92 year old father who has survived a difficult year of battling pneumonia and my 87 year old mother who is as energetic as a 60 year old!
-Josie
I had the most amazing celebration party last night to launch our fall collections in the brand new Natori boutique in Manila at Rustans. The setting was the very exotic and sexy Salon de Ning at the Peninsula Hotel with 30 beautiful models in 5 vignette presentations of the richest couture caftans and robes, long ready-to-wear evening gowns, and pajama dressing at its coolest (Design Director David Leung styled them with 12 inch obi belts… so cool!). The best of Manila society and press were there. It was such a gratifying evening. Thanks to the team at Natori that made this event possible and a special thanks to David Leung for styling the most memorable Natori presentation ever! I was so thrilled and proud!
-Josie
The loss of Evelyn Lauder is so sad but I can’t help to reflect on all that she meant to women. She had all the amazing traits I admire with great women….always feminine, gracious, thoughtful, tenacious, loving, and selfless. She gave back so much to the world. I admire her and am in awe of all that she did for breast cancer and other women’s health issues.
I will always remember her smile…
-Josie
What an experience going to my first ever boxing match in Las Vegas to see the world champion Filipino Manny Pacquaio defending his title against Mexican Marquez. This was an event my husband Ken was so excited to go to! I cringed at the idea of seeing brutality and blood, but to my surprise I actually had an unforgettable time. The buzz, the energy, the crowd chanting, cheering and booing was contagious…I found myself screaming too (for Manny of course).
The emotions were as electric as could possibly be—imagine the huge Mexican crowd chanting viva Mexico and thumping their feet while the equally enthusiastic (but a bit less sizable) Filipino crowd attempting to counter the boisterous Mexican crowd! All in all, I now appreciate the sport of boxing. I am just as glad there was no knockout bloody sequel!
As for the attire…that’s another story!! I got dizzy seeing disco like dresses, micro-mini skirts, cleavage baring tops, bling-bling, show off your body no matter what shape you are clothes with the towering platform shoes as the dominant footwear! Not sure how it inspired me for our next collection!
Of course, the champ Pacquiao won which had the Mexican contingent in uproar (they did not agree with verdict) for hours long after the fight ended! All part of what turned out to be a memorable evening for a neophyte boxing enthusiast, me!!
- Josie
What an overwhelming experience to attend the major jewelry show in Hong Kong! Ian, our designer in Manila, and I whizzed through endless halls of baubles, diamonds, pearls, every imaginable gem and semi-precious stones from every nook of the world. I was never more inspired to get into jewelry fast!!! The show goes on for a week, but you could spend two weeks there and never see it all. I loved every minute of it! Watch out for some special stones in our collection for Fall 2012…
-Josie
Experiencing the Typhoon in Manila is something else! The rain and 130 KM winds have gone on for 48 hours. Schools have been closed; Electricity is out everywhere unless one has generators! I have been happily stranded at home catching up on much needed sleep and spending time with Ken and our family! I can only imagine what it would be like to be physically affected as many others have been because of these floods and severe weather conditions. I must admit I love the sounds of the wind, the rain, the rustling of the trees…nature can be inspiring even at times like this!
-Josie
I am so thrilled with our first ever Ready-to-Wear boutique at Saks. Thanks to my good friend Calvin Tsao for designing a dream environment that enhances the collection! I couldn’t be happier with the results and I can’t wait to hear everyone else’s reactions!
-Josie
What a turnout for the lunch honoring Valentino for the Couture Council of FIT! Kudos to Liz Peek, a good friend, who has built this event into a must go event during Fashion Week. I had so much fun seeing friends I haven’t seen for years like Paula Zahn…so gorgeous! Daphne Guinness as usual was a standout. Anna Wintour’s presentation to Valentino was outstanding. Don’t we all wish we could have a career and life like Valentino! In my dreams…
-Josie
