Back to the Future

Can I tell you...about the Rafe store opening in Manila. Last March 27, my store officially opened to a huge crowd of friends, family, fans and fashionistas. It was a much anticipated event especially for me because I was coming home. When I left the Philippines in 1989, I had to give up a lot that was dear to me. It isn't often in life that you get to regain what you had to sacrifice. Through the store, I have. Tesa, my sister and Sales Director, flew in from New York to oversee the final details and make sure that the store was up to my expectations. She hadn't been home in 10 years! What a homecoming it was for both of us! A whirlwind of a trip filled with dinner parties, press interviews, fashion events, mini-reunions and late nights out pigging out (mostly lechon kawali)on Pinoy food. Phew!My best friends / muses Audrey Puckett Chiu and Myrza Sison along with Manila fashion plates Ting Ting Cojuangco, Mons Romulo Tantoco and Sofia Elizalde cut the ribbon to begin the festivities. As soon as the ribbon was out of the way, the feeding frenzy began. Guests poured in and shopped til they dropped. I signed so many inside linings of the bags and soles of the shoes that the ink ran out. Everybody wanted my signature! Everybody wore their Rafes, some from past seasons and some current. I was flying high, as you can imagine.Mia Borrommeo kept the crowd flowing and introduced me to everybody. Mia knows everybody!. Tina Ocampo held court outside, making sure everybody had a cocktail or a nibble.Even local heartthrob Marc Nelson dropped by much to the delight of all the girls. Bulbs were flashing, drinks were flowing and people were shopping. By the end of the evening certain styles were totally sold out and there was a long list of special orders for some very desperate girls.
The store is conveniently located on the ground floor in the new Greenbelt 5 Ayala Mall in Makati. It's a gorgeous mall with a built in park in the middle so it's airy and great for strolling around in the afternoons.There's lots of restaurants and a wing in th mall dedicated to Filipino designers which makes this mall extra special as far as I'm concerned. You get a real flavor for Philippine design and craftsmanship by having these designers available in one section. Kudos to the Ayala group for doing this.The store wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Ricco and Tina Ocampo. They've carried my designs in their Mix stores for several years now and have really built a following for my brand. We go way back as well in the late 80's when I used to sell my ready-to-wear collection in their Sari-Sari stores. Now that's history. They followed the look of my showroom with my baby blue damask walls and dark brown floors plus my eclectic mix of design books, vintage furniture and objects gathered from my travels around the world and flea market finds. It's a jewel of a store and I'm so pleased with the outcome. Friends who know me felt that the store captured the essence of my brand.Several nights after, Ricco and Tina threw us an intimate dinner in their home and invited friends to feast and celebrate the success of the opening. Thank you Ricco and Tina, not only for the past, but also for the present and the future.