How to love local? Bench has 100 ways
MANILA, Philippines - There was a time when we were allergic to anything local. Come to school wearing locally made bag, and you won’t exactly fit in with everyone carrying a be-logoed knapsack. Quality — and equally important, design — of local products have caught up with the rest of the world since, and those days are almost as good as over. Homegrown brand Bench of retail leader Ben Chan, who has always supported the work of local talent these past 28 years in the industry, made proof.
Recently, it launched Love Local, a book that its editors Raymond Ang and Paolo Lorenzana call a “yearbook” of sorts, featuring over 100 Bench endorsers and collaborators photographed by our best lensmen, as well as testimonials from Filipino writers on what they love about being local. They even took a class picture for the launch, one that rivals a Vanity Fair cover spread in star power.
Held at The Playground at Bench Tower in Taguig, the launch was a festival of local flavor, from the food, prepared by chef Margarita Fores, to the fashion, with throwback brands getting their own T-shirt collection courtesy of Bench and local graphic designers.
Celebrities were in near complete attendance. No one was immune to the swagger of Philippine cinema’s godfather Eddie Gutierrez. Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez and the original Bench endorser Richard Gomez were the party’s resident prom queen and king. Ogie Alcasid stepped in as the event’s host. A table of writers, designers, photographers and musicians — including one of the country’s most prolific bands, Up Dharma Down — showed up from the art department. Athlete-turned-actor Enchong Dee was present, so was Gretchen Barretto, our very own Posh Spice. International hairdressers and humanitarians Mark Bustos and Lucille Javier made their homecoming. In other words, the jocks, the popular kids, the Asian nerds, the cool Asians, the friendly halfie hotties, the best people you will ever meet… were there.
“If a fan of Bench and the brand’s celebrity endorsers were to pick the book up, this would be an opportunity to introduce that person to other Filipinos who deserve their adulation. There are so many brilliant, beautiful people in this country who are doing great things. Alongside Daniel Padilla or Marian Rivera, there are Filipinos who are remarkable in their own way, whether it’s JP Anglo with his elevating Ilonggo eats or Chito Asuncion, a taxi driver who doesn’t discriminate on distance when picking up passengers. Ben Chan also suggested a few people they’d like to see in the book. We hope this mix represents the dynamic spirit of this country today,” says Lorenzana.
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Love Local is available at Bench stores for P398.
