A lavish new concept store in Manila has opened for business here called ADORA and I, along with a few other lucky journalists, were hosted by owner Eman Pineda and his team for a week in the Philippines. Before taking us to his retail respite he gave us a tour of Manila and Cebu so we could see the shop in the context of its environs. Above is a painting from a Filipino artist at the National Museum.
A hesitant Eman posing for me at one of the highlights of our touristic introduction: In the now preserved office of the late president Ferdinand Marcos – in the Coconut Palace -that his infamous wife Imelda had constructed on the South China Sea in Manila "to show the poor people in the countryside that you can make something beautiful out of what peasants have, darling"… or something to that effect.
Coconut guards…. 
Coconut villas…
Murals of ‘the good life’ surrounded by nature replete with coconut…
Coconut wood interiors (and a portrait of the last sultanate of the Philippines before the colonial Spanish period)
Coconut furnishings…Talk about overkill: absolutely everything here is made of coconut – leaves, shells, wood, bark. You get the gist.
The only thing apparently NOT made of coconuts are the loos. I couldn’t resist – though it appears it has been refurbished since Imelda was last here before the coup d’etat, this is a photo from THE bathroom of her private quarters 🙂
We stayed at the Shangri-La in the upmarket Makati district of the city.
One of my favourite new acquaintances here is Margarita Fores, an uber glamorous chef who has also put a rustic spin on formal ‘living’ floral arrangements – sold at Adora. Above is what greeted us in the hotel.
Margarita’s waiters in adorable costumes made of special fibre from local plants
Below are some images from the retail splendor that is ADORA:
Some of Adora’s private label arstisanal accessories made out of etched, carved and shattered paua shells
More shell handiwork: we were escorted to the Bon-Ace showroom, a company that specialises in supplying custom made shell and wood components and accessories (home wares too) for some of the biggest luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo and more. Above is one of their own interior range creations.
Believe it or not, I did take this glorious photo myself – testament to the instrinsic beauty at the Abaca Resort where we stayed in Cebu, the country’s second city (no thanks to any sort of photographic prowess on my part, mind you – just point and click).
Little old me at the architect’s house party where all I could think of was how I wished so much Diane were here to do justice to the leather grande chaise ….
In good company with a troupe of ferociously friendly female fashion-ettes: Syl Tang writing for the Financial Times, Romiyo Hayashi from Vogue Japan, her sister Tamiko Hayashi from Social Concierge and Alessandra Signorelli from Italian Vogue.
Ever immaculate and vivacious Carla Sibal, chief editor of leading Filino magazine MEGA.
Eman with local style icon and host of the Philippine version of Project Runway, Ms. ‘Apples’ Aberin and Eman’s friend Manuel from Madrid.
Our suave co-host from Camron PR, Adnan Abassi who flew in from London to look after us with grace and gusto – here chatting with Alessandra.
We even escaped the clutches of high society for a spell to take in a little culture via some contemporary artists in Manila at an exhibition at the National Museum.
Street-side en route to the orchestra hall.
Not to mention the faded grandeur of San Agustin’s trompe l’oeuil church in the colonial Spanish district of Intramuros – which, incidentally, was the only building left standing after the onslaught of the battle between Japan and the US during the 2nd World War.
And for all you ‘normal’ people out there, I’ll leave an envy-inspiring photo which I didn’t partake in (no fan of nature or water sports, am I…) – pool side next to the Pacific
MORE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTUAL OPENING OF THE ADORA SHOP IN A SEPARATE POST COMING SOON.
