Highlighting fashion, lifestyle and food brands, Pop District Bazaar promotes local and start-up businesses that are mostly found on the online community. District Events, with Charmaine De Leon and Ruby Pansoy at the helm, believe in creating a venue for young entrepreneurs to introduce themselves to the Cebuano public.
This year’s Big Anniversary Sale will bring even more brands together, so make sure to visit the Oakridge Pavilion on September 16 and 17. If you’re not convinced yet, we’ve got five more reasons why you should definitely schedule a visit.
From online influencer Katt Valdez’s Instagram page
Stuff your closet with clothes and accessories.
Street-cool shirts from Free Flow and Blaque, ultra-trendy earrings from Razzle Tassel, swimsuits from Solti Activewear and Hey Summer PH, sweet and feminine dresses from Lil’ Tati and Stitched Apparel–the list just goes on. Just walking through the set-up of Pop District Bazaar inspires a lot of outfit inspiration, whether it’s the items on the shelves or on the people behind the counter
There are beauty buys too!
We’re especially excited about grabbing some tubs of the organic teeth whitener Kokoclear. After all, you’re never fully dressed without a big, bright smile!
Get to meet your favorite online influencers.
Patrice Averilla, Cha Ocampo, Katt Valdez, David Guison, Vina Guerrero, Blinky de Leon, Eva Aguspina, Michael Karlo Lim, Vanessa East, Jesse Jake Daan, Sophia Sanchez–the list just goes on. There are talks on building your social media presence, meet and greet sessions, and some of them are even selling their pre-loved items on-site.
The Chocoholic from Sweet Fix
Sample all the good food.
Cookies from Jan’s Homemade Goodies, the bite-sized meats from Cow&Co. , the food-and-drink-in-a-cup from Kerrimo, power bowls from Be Bowl’d, desserts from Sweet Fix–we’re definitely going to be feasting this weekend.
Performances from homegrown artists.
In the vein of celebrating all things local, Pop District Bazaar is bringing local talent to the stage as well. Jacky Chang, Mandaue Nights, Lourdes Maglinte, Von Saw, and so many others will be performing on the site, so make sure to check the schedules so you don’t miss your favorite band!
]]>Kick off the summer at this weekend’s Pop District Bazaar. Now on its fifth run, Pop District Bazaar has been a venue for local and start-up businesses to show off their products, nurturing entrepreneurship while creating a fun shopping experience.
We’re so excited to check out Pop District Bazaar on March 31-April 2 at the Oakridge Pavilion. Here’s five reasons why you should be too:
A photo in Siargao by Cliff Rigor, from Explore 360
IT’S NOW A TRAVEL FAIR
Joining the bazaar are travel concessionaires, including Explore 360, a community of travelers who promote local travel and culture. Besides booths, there will also be workshops on how you can use social media to enhance and share your travel experience with Explore 360’s Kaloy Uypaunco, blogger Etienne Chantal and Sebastien Gilbert of Maldavar Films.
PRE-LOVED FINDS FROM STYLISH PERSONALITIES
Pop District Bazaar is known for their blogger meets, and even more exciting is having the chance to raid the closets of these stylish personalities. Bloggers like Vern and Verniece Enciso, Kryz Uy, Gillian Uang, Blinky De Leon, Karlo Lim, and Kym and Divine Maitland-Smith are just some of the people who’ll be there this weekend.
One of the colorful pieces from Strozzi
EXCITING FASHION AND BEAUTY BRANDS
Pop District gives us a chance to see our favorite online stores’ offerings for ourselves. We’re sure to be stocking our closets with items from a lot of homegrown brands after this weekend. We’re especially looking forward to the ballet flats of Rita Shoes, the sexy-cool swimwear from Solti, beauty buys from Protools, and colorful accessories from Strozzi.
DELICIOUS FOOD FINDS
Homegrown brands aren’t just popping up for fashion–a lot of great dining choices will be at Pop District Bazaar as well. Pie Cebu, Briquito Silvanas and Krish’s Kitchen will all be under one roof, and our sweet tooth is ready.
SHOWCASING MUSICAL TALENT
When you’re done with all the shopping, make sure to take a breather to enjoy the musical sets from local performers Ivy Gallur and Mike Fegi on April 1.
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Set a date with your gal pals for a Wednesday wind down as Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu launches its weekly Ladies’ Night at Ibiza Beach Club. Beginning 19 October 2016, from 4.00 pm to 12.00 am, Cebu’s premier dining, entertainment and party establishment will host the belles with a treat of dance, entertainment and drinks.
Every Wednesday, ladies get complimentary passes to Ibiza Beach Club, plus two drinks on the house. The fun begins with sunset sessions from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm, the golden hours when you can still get a good tan as you sip some refreshments, relax to cool beats, chill out and take snaps along the net pods.
Come dinner time, ladies are welcome to dine in their resort chic outfit or swimsuit, socialise between sips and nibbles, and take a cool dip in the outdoor pool. The indoor space, called the Conservatory, offers a more exclusive feel to your all-girl dinner date, complemented with spectacular ocean views. Sit and “meat” through dinner, either with tapas served à la carte or the Balearic-inspired signature 15-course grill, which is best paired with a variety of award-winning Manny O. wines.
The highlight of the evening is the nightly performances by the Ibiza show team, featuring an hour of visual treat with live singing and dancing to retro pop, disco and Latin music, as well as movie musical sequences alongside daring fire exhibitions. The segment is sure to get the girls grooving and belting to every beat.
SOLTI Active Wear
For the official launch on 19 October, the hotel will be hosting a fashion event from 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm, featuring creations by SOLTI Active Wear and seaside beats by celebrity DJ, Divine Maitland-Smith.
SOLTI Active Wear is a home-grown brand from Cebu that promotes sustainable lifestyle through an earth-conscious swim line made out of recycled fabrics that were cast aside by big manufacturers.
MÖVENPICK HOTEL MACTAN ISLAND CEBU
Punta Engaño Road, Mactan Island
6332. 492 7777 | e-mail
White blazer by IXA ESCARIO, necklace by MIA ARCENAS, bandeau swimwear set by SOLTI ACTIVEWEAR, Constellation co-Axial watch from OMEGA (Photography by Steffen Billhardt: Originally published in Zee Lifestyle, March 2016)
It’s early on a sunny Sunday morning, and Kelsey Merritt is sitting in the makeup chair—a spot she’s probably very familiar with, considering she’s one of the country’s most sought-after models and had signed with Wilhelmina Models. She’s bare-faced and with traces of sleep in her eyes, quietly going through stories on Snapchat and scrolling through her Instagram feed while makeup artist Chady puts on her sun-kissed beauty look. She yawns, stretching her arms up, and looks up at us with a sheepish grin; and for a moment the international model falls away and Kelsey is a fresh-faced 19-year-old with the kind of natural charm that’s hard to emulate. “Sorry,” she laughs. “I’m not a morning person.”
In that small gesture, it immediately becomes easy to understand why everyone has been smitten by Kelsey Merritt. Besides her obvious good looks—the piercing hazel gaze, the soft angles of her face and those incredible freckles—she’s bubbly and smiling. When she’s in front of the camera, though, it’s a whole different story.
“I never intended to model in the first place,” Kelsey admits, something which may come as a bit of a surprise when you see how much the camera loves her. “My friends were starting to model professionally, and I got interested. I just thought I’d test the waters to see if I’m any good at it.”
Very good, as it turns out. Since she first started going to go-sees at 14, she’s in the midst of a true model moment. “It’s overwhelming, of course. I’m still trying to keep up with everything, but I’m always thankful,” she says. “It’s very humbling because I and to work very hard to get where I am. I’m glad that my hard work is being recognized by people in the industry.”
Bandeau swimsuit set from SOLTI ACTIVEWEAR, matching top and shorts set by IXA ESCARIO, necklaces from MOY STUDIO (Photography by Steffen Billhardt: Originally published in Zee Lifestyle, March 2016)
Of course, her stairway to success was a very millennial one—social media played a huge part in bringing Kelsey to where she is now. “It launched my career,” she shares. “I did my first-ever fashion editorial because the editor-in-chief of Candy Magazine saw my photos on Facebook. I was scouted by Wilhelmina through my Instagram account.”
By Wilhelmina, she means the international agency that handles the likes of Soo Joo and Alexandra Richards. “BJ Pascual and I had been planning to do a test shoot for so long, and finally we were both free and it happened. He uploaded the pictures on his Instagram account a few days after,” Kelsey recalls. “On the exact same day, the director of Wilhelmina Models followed him on Instagram. Inevitably, the first thing he saw were my pictures!”
There’s a little bit of serendipity involved in her so-called big break, which she happily admits. “I’d like to call it fate and a dose of good luck! It opened my mind to a lot of things. I feel like I do things differently now, like I’m more disciplined. You have to be disciplined when modeling in New York.”
Not to say that she wasn’t disciplined in the first place. When most would have jumped on the first plane to New York once the email from Wilhelmina Models came through, Kelsey, who was then in the middle of the school year, asked to make the trip in April during her summer break. “It’s all about setting priorities, and school is my number one priority. I put that above anything else,” she explains. She had originally left her hometown in Pampanga to study Communications with a major in Advertising and PR at Ateneo de Manila University. “I thought this course would be perfect because it’s the same industry I’m already working in. It’s good that I could put my connections to good use.
“It’s really about setting aside time for school, family, work, friends and myself,” Kelsey continues. “I was struggling at first when I didn’t know how to manage my time well. Now, I basically try not to work on school days and leave all my modeling jobs for the weekend.”
“It’s all about setting priorities, and school is my number one priority. I put that above anything else.” – Kelsey Merritt (Photography by Steffen Billhardt: Originally published in Zee Lifestyle, March 2016)
There are some exceptions, though, such as finding out she had been booked for the Vera Wang Fall 2015 campaign. Despite a paper due and a big test coming up, the model took off and flew out for the photo shoot. “Honestly, I found out right as I was going to bed,” she recalls. “I was just lying in bed, incredulously thinking how this girl from Pampanga will be flying to New York to shoot a Vera Wang advertising campaign. I couldn’t believe it! It seemed so surreal.”
Slip dress set by MIA ARCENAS (Photography by Steffen Billhardt: Originally published in Zee Lifestyle, March 2016)
The campaign gave her the chance to work with industry greats like photographer Patrick Demarchelier and digital artist Pascal Dangin, who was serving as the shoot’s creative director. “I thought it would be intimidating shooting with someone like Demarchelier, but when he arrived in Pier 59—the studio where we shot—he greeted everyone and asked them how they were,” Kelsey shares. “He’s a very warm and approachable person. When it was time to shoot, he sat down on a chair in front of me and two other models, and just started shooting. Pascal was behind him, directing us and Patrick would also comment from time to time. He encourages us whenever we were doing things right, and he even came up to me once and fixed the angle of my face. We’d know the shoot was done when he put down his camera, and went to look over the photos on-screen with Vera and Pascal.”
If it seems like Kelsey is a keen observer, it’s because she truly is. She treated her experience in New York as a learning one, making notes on how the industry worked in that side of the world. “It was all about learning how everything worked,” she says. “Whenever I went to a casting, I would look at what the other models were wearing, what looked nice and what didn’t. I saw how polite the models are to the clients—they always asked how they were and would tell everyone to have a good day when they left. It’s all about making a connection with the client. You have to show them that you’re someone they would want to work with.”
The study worked—Kelsey went on to book fashion editorials for Harper’s Bazaar and Nylon, for Steve Madden’s website, and for Uniqlo’s Re-Jean campaign, which brought her to London for a week. “Traveling is definitely one of the things I enjoy most about modeling, as well as getting to work with a lot of talented people.”
Dressing up is another perk that Kelsey enjoys. “I’m usually in jeans and a tank top. A typical casting outfit,” she describes as her go-to outfit when she’s just being herself. “My personal style’s been greatly affected by what my agency wants me to wear to castings. They tell all new girls to dress in either black, gray or white—so I ended up getting used to that, and now those colors are all that I ever wear or buy!”
White blazer by IXA ESCARIO, necklace by MIA ARCENAS, bandeau swimwear set by SOLTI ACTIVEWEAR, Constellation co-Axial watch from OMEGA (Photography by Steffen Billhardt: Originally published in Zee Lifestyle, March 2016)
This buying is usually done at Zara, and Vania Romoff is a favorite designer. “My style icons would have to be Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid,” she shares. “They dress very well, very chic. This is what I always try to go for, and I always end up using their style as reference.”
The downside is the inevitable lack of free time, so Kelsey spends much of her downtime at home. “I go on Netfix to find something to watch, or read a book. I don’t really like going out,” she admits, naming Game of Thrones as her reading material of choice. “If I’m not at home, I’m probably at the beach.” That, or driving to Pampanga to spend time with her family. And what exactly does she miss most about living away from home? “The absence of home cooked meals,” she laughs.
Kelsey off duty, it turns out, is the girl looking up at us with a goofy smile, her hair in curlers, her freckles showing and her eyes playful. She explains that on days off or spent at school, she’ll just give her lashes a quick curl, slide on lip balm and is good to go. “My favorite shade of lipstick is a pinkish nude one, the kind you wouldn’t think I had any lipstick on,” she says.
There lies her charm. As someone who has often said that she finds modeling a career and not a lifestyle, her persona off-camera is arrestingly charming—and the hint of that shines through even as she’s posing on-camera. This is probably what earned Kelsey Merritt the title model-of-the-moment. But if the girl herself is any indication, this moment is going to last a very good while.
by Shari Quimbo photography Steffen Billhardt photo post-processing Carlo Sardes of Mooodigital
stylist Blaq Mafia makeup Chady Pantaleon of MAC Cosmetics hair Erwin Monteza
production assistant Carlo Rivera locale Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa
Originally published in Zee Lifestyle, March 2016. For back issues, subscribe to Magzter.
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