Summer HUGS in Wintertime

cary santiago, merce brenner, emanuel hamoy, & jun escario

Last winter, a friend took a two-week break from his 5^th Avenue work at Blanc de Chine, New York. Escaping the freezing cold of the Big Apple, Emmanuel Hamoy warmed his tropical days in the company of friends and family in the Philippines.

eman, merce, arcy gayatin, & jun 

He went home to his hometown Dapitan briefly and returned to Cebu after a couple of days to be with Cebuano friends. 


Before moving to New York in the early 90’s, Emmanuel was one of Cebu’s most respected designers, dressing up the city’s well-heeled ladies. But the City that never sleeps beckoned him, thus NYC is where decided to be these past fifteen years.

Just before he flew back to New York, Jun Escario who visited "Eman" two weeks earlier in NYC threw an intimate dinner, inviting only the sybarite's closest friends.

eman, jun, jojo romoff, cary, & jing ramos

For fashionable fun, Jun changed into a shirt that perfectly matched designer Arcy Gayatin’s  dress while Philip Rodriguez lingered in the couch with champagne in one hand and Flick, Jun’s adorable Chihuahua, in the other. Jojo Romoff who had recently been farouche from the fashion set showed up healthier and happier, while Merce Abellana Brenner who was many-local-designers’ favorite model laughed giddily, seemingly aging not a single day. 

 merce, eman, & cary

Cary Santiago kept everyone entertained with his anecdotes of personal triumphs and tribulations flooring us to no end.  And while everyone wanted to stay on for more giggles, we had to call it a night since there were early appointments the next day. 


Thus, we then wished Emmanuel well and sent him off to winter with the warmest hugs.