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Don’t ask us why we always end up in the company of jocks—it’s not entirely by choice (Think Fremen encountering Sardaukar) but we’re not complaining. Our friend Jay Lozada was doing make-up for the Due/Collezione fashion show at the Peninsula Manila yesterday. We needed a place to sit and write a column so we invited ourselves to Rhett Eala’s suite.

James and Phil Younghusband of the Philippine national football team the Azkals are the endorsers of Collezione C2. “They’re wonderful endorsers,” says Due/Collezione designer Rhett Eala, “very supportive of the brand.”

We noticed from his running commentary while the Chevy Chase movie Fletch was on TV that James knows a lot about movies. He is watching the TV series Walking Dead. Phil was pleased at his Meralco team’s 15-1 victory over Team Socceroo. He made 7 goals. (When Jay mentioned that the Azkals were playing the Brazilians we fell out of our seats. What he meant was that Meralco, whose lineup includes Azkals, was playing Socceroo, whose lineup includes Brazilian models. Ah.)

According to Rhett the Collezione C2 Holiday Collection is inspired by the Himalayas. They’ve been on his mind since his friends went trekking in Bhutan. And recently he saw the Michael Palin TV series Himalaya again. (No, he has not seen Lost Horizon recently. Last Song Syndrome: Living together, growing together…)

The result of the Himalayan fixation: plenty of outfits in olive and neutral colors, with bursts of orange. They look like clothes for cold weather, but they’re in light fabrics like cotton and linen.

Guest models Anton del Rosario and Nathan Burkey of the Azkals walked the ramp in dropped crotch pants. During the preparations there was some discussion over whether they were supposed to smile or look serious (Blue Steel/Le Tigre). During the show my seatmate noted that all the male models looked like it was a terrific hassle and all the female models looked like they were angry at us. Ah, fashion.

Will the average Filipino guy take to dropped crotch pants? We’d like to know. We can tell you they’re more aesthetically pleasing than huge baggy pants worn so low you see butt cracks. These pants look like a cross between skinny jeans and the harem pants of the M.C. Hammer era. (LSS: Dun dun dun dun can’t touch this.)

James looks like a schoolboy who’s wandered off during a class field trip in Tibet.

Phil’s trousers would not work on a guy with hips.

Good work, Rhett and the Due/Collezione team, and thanks for the vodka! The Holiday Collection is now available at the Due stores in Rockwell, Eastwood and Greenbelt 5, and at the many Collezione C2 outlets.

You have to see Black Narcissus, the 1947 film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger about British nuns in the Himalayas.

Obviously wearing heels makes you taller, but it also forces you to pay attention to your posture. If you want to be comfortable in high heels, you have to listen to your mother’s (or drill sergeant’s, or maybe it’s just schizophrenia) voice in your head: “Stomach in, chest out, shoulders back, butt out.”

Ignore the voice/s and you get a backache and leg cramps.

Good posture makes you more elegant and aerodynamic. Also, walking around like this gives you the urge to toss your hair and laugh archly, as if you were at a cocktail party and you have just spotted your miserable ex with noticeable male pattern baldness.

No wonder femmes fatales (and the kings of France before they were divested of their heads) wear heels high enough to cause vertigo. High heels change your perspective, literally. Being able to see the tops of people’s heads gives you new confidence (and if you did not lack for confidence to begin with, elevates it into megalomania). You feel that you are equal (or superior) to anyone.

Also, if you should accidentally-on-purpose walk into someone you are not fond of, you can quote Bambi Arambulo in the original Temptation Island and say, “Sorry, hindi kita napansin. Dahil siguro sa aking towering height.”

No matter how brilliantly-engineered the high-heeled shoes, after some time in them your feet will hurt. When your feet are in pain, the tendency is to forget your Grace Kelly posture impression and start slouching. Do not give in!

This is why those cute girly girls who run around in six-inch Stella Luna killer stilettoes have boyfriends. When they feel tired from traipsing around in heels, they can hang on their boyfriend’s arm or drape themselves around their boyfriend’s shoulders.

It’s supposed to make the boyfriend feel manly and protective, but the real point is to take the load off your suffering feet. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Conclusion: Walking in high heels is a behavior-altering experience. This will require more research. Translation: We’re buying more shoes.

A mile in someone else’s heels in Emotional Weather Report, last week in the Philippine Star.

The world is especially awesome because the All Blacks defeated the Wallabies 20-6 in a ferocious semifinal at the Rugby World Cup. How vicious was it? We’ve never seen so much blood in a match. For sheer drama you can’t beat the sight of Cory Jane and company with blood streaming down their faces. It was literally a matter of life and death.

New Zealand meets France on Sunday (1600 Manila time), while Australia battles Wales for third place on Friday (1530 Manila time). It’s a repeat of the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, which the host New Zealand won.

Regatta and the Discovery Channel have teamed up to produce “The World Is Just Awesome” shirts. Six designs in 2-3 colors, all proclaiming your appreciation for our planet. Yeah they look better on Jon, we have no complaints.

We wear black a lot. It goes with everything. If you’re in a bad mood it matches; if you’re in a good mood it’s ironic.

However we also sweat a lot because we’re in the tropics and we have pores. So we use deodorants, and often they leave white marks on our black clothes. (What we do is, we wait 30 minutes after application before putting the black shirt on. But sometimes we’re in a hurry.)

The deodorant brand Rexona has launched a new variant called Rexona Crystal which boasts of a “revolutionary anti-white mark technology”.

Anne Remulla demonstrates the properties of the new product.

According to Rexona brand manager Anne Remulla, Rexona Crystal combines carefully selected cosmetic oils with active anti-perspirant ingredients to reduce the white marks deodorants usually leave on dark-colored clothes.

Ohhhh, reallyyyy? Let’s put the product to a test.

We need female volunteers for this product road test. Drop us a line in Comments and give us a cellphone number where you can be reached (it won’t be published). We’ll give you a sample of Rexona Crystal so you can try it for yourself.

Rexona Crystal was launched at a salon show featuring the designs of top Filipino female designers. These are Camille Co’s creations.

After one week, send us a picture of yourself wearing black and tell us if Rexona Crystal has made good on its promise of protection from white marks. Send your pictures to koosi.obrien@gmail.com and we will post them here.

Fashion by Michi Calica. The launch event/salon show also presented designs by Charina Sarte and Czarina Villa.

After we post your pictures, we will send you gift packs from Rexona and Unilever to thank you for joining this product test. Who’s in?

Purity of Lines and Intent
by Christian De Leon Espiritu

One, two, three numbers were enough for this commentator to conclude James Reyes has focus and a concrete fashion dialogue and sensibility. He stumbled into a simple trickery. Combining three contrasting disparate colours, definitely is no afternoon walk in the park. Even veteran colourists can make a booboo and end up with messy often sour numbers. But James Reyes miraculously passed this acid test…

Read Christian Espiritu’s review of James Reyes’s collection at Fashion Watch.

Robin with his models at Anik Boutique

Filipino designer Robin Tomas launched his women’s fall collection last week at Anik Boutique on Madison Avenue. Dubbed Amish Chic Futura, the latest Robin Tomas collection features silky dresses and blouses in black and white prints inspired by the Amish community, juxtaposed with modern cuts, pleating details and sophisticated silhouettes. The launch was held during New York City’s third annual Fashion’s Night Out.

The Tomas Fall Collection is now available at Anik Boutique on Madison Avenue and 83rd street in Manhattan.

In March, Robin launched his winning t-shirt design for Supima (Superior Pima Cotton) at Bloomingdale’s Department Store. Early next year he will premiere a new line of men’s and women’s tops at Penshoppe stores in the Philippines. For more information on Robin Tomas, visit www.robintomas.com.