Effortlessly beautiful Ira J. Santos, only daughter of Alexis G. Santos.jpg)
and Concepcion Cortez, will be escorted by her four-year-old brother Manco when the grandiose Garden Ballroom of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel is transformed into the dreamscape of Alice’s Wonderland on July 16 at 5:31 p.m. onwards.
Ira will make her grand entrance in a serenity blue bustier gown embellished with pearls, matsuno beads and Swarovski crystals, all hand-sewn on French lace by international fashion designer Kim Gan.
And why not Lewis Carroll’s children’s classic for a theme? It has been made twice into full-length Hollywood features. When Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton’s live-action opened in the spring of 2010, viewers savored the promise of an immersive journey into a magical world in cutting-edge 3D, which was a relatively new phenomenon back then.
And now Alice Through the Looking Glass presents the young, spunky heroine following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the ravaging high seas ? turning the story into a pro-feminist paean. On her return to London, Alice deals with a hard blow that threatens to hinder her dreams of doing her father proud.
In the know of this popularity and its underpinnings, Ira, a high chool student of the exclusive school for girls, St. Paul College-Pasig, decided on the motif as appropriate for her coming out party. In the first place, she believes in girl power, being a member of the school’s champion cheerleading team.
And her parents have spared no effort to make the party of her lifetime — the other being her wedding if ever she decides to enter into matrimony — truly memorable. Mom Connie got ace creative Hanzel Villafuerte as overall coordinator.
Top on the to-do list is Ira’s clothes designer, and the task fell on Kim Gan, who was the easy choice due to her formidable credentials that suited the daughter-and-mother’s preference.
Kim designed Boy George’s Japanese-style outfit at his one-night concert at the Smart Araneta. Kim has an atelier named Gakuya by Kim Gan. Having lived in Japan for several years, she named it after the Japanese word for “boudoir” where geishas change their clothes.
Kim describes Ira as “a very sweet and quiet girl.” The serenity blue color of her coming out gown fits her skin tone, and it goes with the motif. Kim describes her designs as “classic, elegant, young, fresh and magical! Very Disney!”
But she was very careful not to make them costume-like, aiming to retain the couture quality that she successfully executed. Ira cannot wait to wear it on her special day. She will come as a cross between a supermodel and a princess, a tough thing to do that Kim pulled off specially.
Emme Sevillano for hair, Carmi David for makeup, Kim Gan for clothes, Sonia Agbayani for styling, Danny Jota for event styling and set design, PixelCastle forphotography, and Paul Portugal of Kronos Professional Audio & Lights Services for lights, sound and video complete Ira’s glam team
No doubt Ira will be the happiest debutante that night as her beloved family and dear friends celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime event.
UPDATE. Peter Drucker posits that civil work is a results-blind job. In this sense, heads of the previous government have been replaced, regardless of their meritorious accomplishments. One of them is former Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Emerson Carlos, whose resignation became effective on June 30, 2016 as required by his position. He is credited for causing the Metro Manila Film Festival to evolve by leading its 2016 Executive Committee to adapt the finished film format of international standards of A-1 list film festivals such as Cannes and Berlin.
OUTSTANDING NATIONAL MUSEUM DIRECTOR. Filipino-Australian museum director Jeremy Barns will go down in Philippine history as the one who brought the Philippines’ National Museum to global standards. His lasting gift to the Filipino people is making the museum accessible to all by permanently waiving the entrance fee to generate more and younger museum audiences.
As Director, Barnes focused on renovating the National Museum to make it more appealing to visitors, and highlighting exhibits on Filipino identity.
His favorite collection is a set of 2000-year-old burial jars excavated from the Sarangani province in Mindanao. Barns said that these jars display the early Filipino artistic skills in the craft of earthenware-making. These jars are remarkable because they resemble human bodies and faces, having lids in the shape of a human head. It also has unique facial features that portray joy, sorrow, or neutral. These designs make culture enthusiasts speculate the reasons behind these expressions.
Barns is also a fan of the Bones Gallery. He said that the sperm whale skeletons is a big favorite among kids.
The National Art Gallery, housed at the old Legislative Building on P. Burgos Street in Manila, has been at the core of the rehabilitation. One of the key changes in 2010 involved the institution’s main draw, Juan Luna’s Spoliarium, which was moved in its display space to give it more prominence.
Barns also pushed for the renovation of old Senate Session Hall, exposing its original towering columns and highlighting the architectural work of Juan Arellano and the sculptures of Isabelo Tampinco.
Also since 2010, the Museum’s number of galleries has steadily increased to showcase artworks that had been gathering dust in storage, as well as newly sourced collections of Filipino art masters.
The National Museum has also been actively seeking the transfer of significant art collections from other government institutions whose core mandates do not involve art management.
In 2012, he promoted the biodiversity of the Philippines and fought against habitat destruction. Thus, he held exhibits of plants and minerals that are found uniquely in the Philippines.
Work has also been underway on the National Museum of Natural History, housed at the former Department of Tourism building in Rizal Park, which is expected to be opened in 2017.
As the official Patron of the National Museum and the Honorary Chairman of our Board of Trustees, President Rodrigo Duterte can recognize Barnes outstanding work in, the National Museum by reappointing him as Director like former President Benigno Aquino did before him.