Sunday brunch and Albert Andrada's alluring collection

All eyes were on the first model as he walked down the escalator of Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila to the lobby last Sunday dressed in an elegant white suit with gold embellishments perfectly placed on the shoulders and waist. He was then followed by two female models, also in white and gold—the first in a Chinese-inspired full-length dress with a high slit, and the other in a cocktail dress with a peplum, both wearing head pieces that screamed extravagance. It was start of the show for Dubai-based fashion designer Albert Andrada's collection. Afterwards, all three models walked around the buffet area as it was also the launch of Spiral's Sunday Brunch and the hotel's celebration of Chinese New Year. Inspired by blue and white Chinese porcelain and made with tulle, silk chiffon, shantung, and silk taffeta, the clothes were also part of Andrada's first ever Holiday collection, featured at Philippine Fashion Week last year. "Because my inspiration is the blue and white porcelain, what I did was I embellished blue and white porcelain over the clothes," he said. The collection and the crowd Most of the guests stopped munching on their food to focus on the designer's collection. Many even whipped out their cameras and started snapping photos of gorgeous blue gowns in different draping cuts, with porcelain patterns as design details. For the finale, a model covered in a veil and dressed in a fully-embellished gown strutted around the hallway of Sofitel’s Spiral. Everyone applauded, maybe because of the fine and perfectly placed details of the gown. An instant fan (she was one of the guests at the hotel) could be overheard praising the designer’s collection. According to her, she would love to throw a soiree in the hotel wearing one of the designer’s beautiful creations. Luckily for her, Andrada is here to stay in the Philippines. He is set to open a store in Greenbelt Mall in Makati City next month. Another guest who adored the collection was socialite Tessa Prieto-Valdes, who approached the designer at the end of the show dressed in her usual over-the-top styling—and wearing a powder-blue Albert Andrada dress. After the show, the guests applauded because the spectacle was a great accompaniment to their Sunday brunch— it was luscious like the buffet's food and magnificent like the dessert. All in all it was a memorable experience. — BM, GMA News