Text by Ana Valenzuela | Photos by Teddy Pelaez | Lifestyle Section, InterAksyon.com · Friday, May 17, 2013 · 11:02 am
She arrived in a sleek Jaguar. And the moment she stepped inside with her Manolo Blahniks at SM Aura Premier on Thursday afternoon, Hollywood A-lister and fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker had fans screaming messages of adoration.
In a black dress, and despite a grueling schedule of photo shoots for the past two days since she arrived in the Philippines, SJP let out her signature glowing smile and waved back to to everyone. Not a few could be heard shouting “Sarah, we love you!” as the famous Emmy awardee and “Sex and the City” actress made her way to the mall’s SM Store.
The well-attended event had guests from business, politics, showbiz, to the fashion world, in attendance. Among those seen were businessman Peter Coyiuto, Swatch Philippines president Virgie Ramos, Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano, fashion magnate Ben Chan, celebrity designer Francis Libiran, actress Gretchen Barreto, hunky Dingdong Dantes, and scenesters Tim Yap and Raymond Guttierrez, to name a few. A number of diplomats from various embassies also came to the event.
Hollywood actress and fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker cuts the ribbon during the SM Store opening in SM Aura, Taguig City, May 16, 2013. Photo by Teddy Peleaz, InterAksyon.com.
SJP was welcomed by model/former VJ Joey Mead, the event’s host, and in return Parker gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m actually shaking,” Mead was heard saying.
The actress led the ribbon-cutting ceremony and even gamely threw coins as part of the store’s blessing. As expected, during the press conference held after the opening, SJP was bombarded with questions about the way she dresses up, her most famous TV character Carrie Bradshaw, and her impressions of the Philippines.
“Salamat po!” she said, asking later if she pronounced the phrase correctly. But never mind if she said it with an accent, fans would shout and clap with approval each time SJP expressed the Filipino phrase for “thank you.”
She shared that even though it was only her first time in the country it has been an amazing experience being here, “There is so much to see and know, all the beautiful islands to go to, but I really, really enjoyed my time here, and everybody has been so kind, such lovely hospitality. I love the food, and the people, and everything. I even love the traffic,” she revealed.
Host Joey Mead was trying to settle members of media who were scrambling to get the attention of the actress for photos and questions for her to answer. A cool and smiling Parker gently schussed the press and guests. At one point, SJP even requested a lady guard to move as she was covering the view of press photographers. Despite the paparazzi chaos, SJP answered all questions with grace, ending each reply with “Nice to meet you!” to each journalist throwing her a question.
On why she thinks she was invited to be part of SM Aura Premier’s opening campaign, SJP said: “It’s probably the last 10 to 12 years of my association with fashion, my rather public proclamation about my affection with fashion, and the idea of this store, and everything that it offers and the beauty and fantasy inside the doors—the enormous, incredible shoe department,” she said with a laugh.
As the media conference concluded, Mead announced that SJP made a generous donation of US$100,000 (around Php4,121,998) to the SM Foundation. The funds will benefit indigent families in Taguig City. Acts of charity isn’t uncommon for this actress, a UNICEF ambassador who is a dedicated supporter of many other charity projects as well.
Read the rest of Sarah Jessica Parker’s answers at the media conference below
How her life differs from Carrie Bradshaw
“Any writer of any long time TV series would tell you that eventually writers start writing around the party that is behind the part.
“Any writer of any long time TV series would tell you that eventually writers start writing around the party that is behind the part.
I think of my life as very, very different from Carrie Bradshaw, and the choices that we make are very, very different, I would reckon that if you ask Michael Patrick King (the show’s creator), he would tell you that a part of me is Carrie. I would recognize it, and I could see that he draws from it. It would be foolish of me to pretend that the lines weren’t blurred. But, having said that, she is a character who is very different, her single life was very colorful, we made different choices. I had children, she never did. We both love New York City, and our love for fashion, those are identifiable (things) that we both connect with.”
The difference between her style and the iconic Carrie
“I always thought that Carrie was much more bold than I was, and I continue to be less bold. But I learned from her, you know playing that part for so long, that there is something kind of exciting about breaking rules, you have this idea of one color not going with another or mixing patterns, all the things that are conventional ideas about dressing up, the do’s and don’ts. She sort of said, ‘I’m gonna throw those ideas in the wind,’ and so she has always made bold choices than me and I learned from her.”
“I always thought that Carrie was much more bold than I was, and I continue to be less bold. But I learned from her, you know playing that part for so long, that there is something kind of exciting about breaking rules, you have this idea of one color not going with another or mixing patterns, all the things that are conventional ideas about dressing up, the do’s and don’ts. She sort of said, ‘I’m gonna throw those ideas in the wind,’ and so she has always made bold choices than me and I learned from her.”
How she look like in a regular Saturday morning
“In my night gown with my kids for a while and then if I don’t have to be presentable, I’ll be wearing jeans or corduroys. It’s spring in New York now, so a light dress—nothing very fancy, nothing that I care that much about.”
“In my night gown with my kids for a while and then if I don’t have to be presentable, I’ll be wearing jeans or corduroys. It’s spring in New York now, so a light dress—nothing very fancy, nothing that I care that much about.”
How she prepares for a red carpet event
“Every year there is a theme, so I think about how much do I want to embrace it, how literal do I want to be.
“Every year there is a theme, so I think about how much do I want to embrace it, how literal do I want to be.
“You are supposed to have fun with it,it is not supposed to be a rigidity, it’s an evening that’s supposed to have some frivolity and some fun, allows for some fantasy. On other occasions you think about what is appropriate, what is the weather, and the reason you are there and the way you get dressed.”
Who she dresses up for
“I do not think that one can dress to disprove a critic, I think the best you can do is be yourself, make choices that feel good in, it is highly likely that someone will disapprove of it. But really, one cannot leave the house trying to please every single person every day. That’s impossible, highly unrealistic and an unhealthy way to live your life.”
“I do not think that one can dress to disprove a critic, I think the best you can do is be yourself, make choices that feel good in, it is highly likely that someone will disapprove of it. But really, one cannot leave the house trying to please every single person every day. That’s impossible, highly unrealistic and an unhealthy way to live your life.”
Her current fashion state of mind
“I came tonight at a very auspicious occasion, and I felt very honored to be asked to be here. I wanted to dress in a way that suggested my gratitude and I knew that it would be a festive occasion for a lot of women, and I certainly feel like I fit into the environment. So, I was excited and I want to be appropriate to my host.”
“I came tonight at a very auspicious occasion, and I felt very honored to be asked to be here. I wanted to dress in a way that suggested my gratitude and I knew that it would be a festive occasion for a lot of women, and I certainly feel like I fit into the environment. So, I was excited and I want to be appropriate to my host.”
One item that she refuses to let go of
“A pair of suede Manolo Blahnik pumps.”
“A pair of suede Manolo Blahnik pumps.”
The biggest challenge for young women today
“The biggest challenge for young women is to trust themselves. (They) always look around their peers and want to look like them, and dress and behave like them. It takes awhile to simply want to be yourself, but that is a simply complex place to arrive, it takes years.”
“The biggest challenge for young women is to trust themselves. (They) always look around their peers and want to look like them, and dress and behave like them. It takes awhile to simply want to be yourself, but that is a simply complex place to arrive, it takes years.”
