An Event to Remember

Manila’s social set attended the book launch of New York-based events designer Jerry Sibal at the Makati Shangri-La ballroom Tuesday evening. The coffee table book is titled An Event to Remember and documents Mr. Sibal’s spectacular settings for lavish parties.

Imelda Marcos and Ching Cruz both arrived in Lincoln Town cars, Madame’s was black, Mrs. Cruz’s white.

At the caida, guests were greeted by human flowers, two people sheathed in black jersey and garlanded with flowers fashioned out of quilted fabric. I don’t remember if they were men or women. The black jersey stretched to cover platforms they were standing on so they towered over everyone.

In the hall just outside the ballroom, there was a woman seated on an apple-shaped chair covered in red roses on a long white platform. She wore a white satin gown and held a red apple. Behind her, running the length of the platform, was a depiction of a city skyline. Presumably the tableau was a reference to the Big Apple, where Mr. Sibal has found success.

Just within the doors of the ballroom was a scrim veiling the rest of the venue. To one side of the scrim was a bough of orchids, at the foot of which posed a fairy, in more than one sense of the word, a transsexual with butterfly wings.

The entrance was flanked by living furniture, two drag queens plunged into the center of round tables which were fashioned into skirts of their elaborate costumes.

Among those who came were Mia Borromeo, Tats Rejante-Manahan, Conrad Onglao (characteristically casual), Mike Toledo (unusually in a barong), Conchitina Bernardo, Pitoy Moreno, Gerry Contreras, Sonia Mathay, Teyet Pascual, Crickette Tantoco, Margie Moran-Floirendo, Louie Ysmael, Gloria Diaz, Tim Yap, Rajo Laurel, Inno Sotto, Ambeth Ocampo, Maricris Zobel, Chris and Katrina Goulbourn-Feist, Tessa Prieto, Louie Locsin, and Monique Villonco.

The ballroom was lit blue for the event, and there were curtained-off squares, which would presumably be unveiled as the evening progressed, but I had to leave so I didn’t discover what was to unfold in them. But it was an event to remember, indeed.