'Esquire' Philippines launches in appropriately knockout fashion
MANILA, Philippines - The lobby of the Manila Peninsula was packed with expectant and excited guests a melting pot of luminaries from the fields of business, publishing, fashion, entertainment, art, and politics. With its premier issue on stands, Esquire Philippines held its formal launch party last Wednesday in an event sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and Pernod Ricard.
Distinguished guests included Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and his wife Gretchen, and Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona and wife Nani. Also in attendance were Mayor Toby Tiangco, Congressman Rodolfo Fariñas, and Senator Francis Escudero.
Inside, they were greeted by hosts Iza Calzado and Philippine STAR columnist Adel Tamano, who then called on JG Summit head Lance Gokongwei to join them onstage. He gave a speech explaining why they decided to bring the Esquire brand to the Philippines, and how excited they were to be finally presenting the first issue. He was followed by Patrick Brennan of Hearst Magazines International, who flew in for the event. He told the crowd that the parent company of Esquire was just as excited about this, their latest foreign edition, and enthused particularly about editor in chief Erwin Romulo and his “encyclopedic” knowledge of all things Esquire.
Romulo then took the stage and gave a sweet, impassioned speech that spoke a bit about his fandom of the magazine (“My career in magazine publishing so far has been a succession of attempts to put out a magazine like Esquire.”), and gave thanks to the people who’ve helped him and who he’s come to regard as mentors, including Summit’s Lisa Gokongwei, Preview EIC Pauline Suaco-Juan and FHM EIC Allan Madrilejos. He then called his team onstage (who you met in last week’s edition of Supreme!), to thank them and to show them off to the crowd. Romulo ended his speech by giving his biggest thanks to STAR Lifestyle editor Millet Mananquil, who gave him his first job in publishing, and his father, Alberto Romulo.
Solenn Heussaff then took the stage, performing a few songs from her album. She was then joined in a medley-duet by Ogie Alcasid, who also performed some songs after.
They were followed by Ely Buendia, ably backed up by Hilera, playing a great set of classic songs from The Ramones, The Smiths, even the Eraserheads, in a folksy Pare Ko number. After their set, DJ Mars Miranda took to the decks, the dancing lasting well into the early morning.
