Is She the Alleged 500M PhP Birkin Scammer?

Image courtesy of Everything in Budget

Danzen Couple Weds in Francis Libiran

Last Saturday, March 5, 2011, Jhon and Shea tied the knot wearing Francis Libiran. When Shea found the Danzen tag in the inner pocket of Jhon's suit two weeks before the wedding, she knew she had to look for another designer to create her dream wedding gown. They were worried that no designer would accept the challenge but were relieved when Jhon's sister's designer, Francis, accepted the last minute job.  Let me share with you what Francis did for the couple in two weeks time.

All photos courtesy of Nelwin Uy

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Jhon Maala.  Both of you looked gorgeous in your Francis Libiran creations. Thank you for inviting me to your wedding.  It was beautiful!

Follow me on twitter: micsylim and like fashionpulis on Facebook.  Send your stories to michaelsylim@gmail.com.  I will be waiting.

What is BOBON?

When I first saw this photo, I thought that BOBON is the men's line of Puey Quinones.  I posted it on my Facebook page to show it to my friends.  Soon enough it proliferated on the Internet and I received a private message from Ulysses King, Jr., manager of BOBON.  He gave me a ring and explained to me what is BOBON.

BOBON is a retail brand located on the 4th level of the Podium that allows buyers greater accessibility to creations made by skilled Filipino artists. It started as a collaboration with Puey Quinones in 2008.  Puey left the brand eventually and now BOBON is a collective effort of several Filipino designers.  Here are some of the featured designers:

Arnold Galang

Eric delos Santos

Estien Quijano

Roland Lirio

Ulysses King

Yako Reyes

Please drop by the Podium to check out the latest collections of these designers.  BOBON also features guest designers from time to time.

Thank you for reading.  Follow me on twitter: micsylim.

Puey Quinones Paid Fashion Scam Victims 195,000 Php in Cash!

Last night at around 8:26pm, I received an SMS message from Jhon (the victim in the Puey Quinones Fashion Scam) that read "Hi michael ... We got already the sum of 195,000 in cash and we returned the suit and the gown.  But Puey did not show up.  Only his mom and his cousin ...  That's all ...  Thanks ...".

Puey charged Jhon and his fiance 150,000 Php for the wedding gown and the suit (Dansen). When they realized that Puey could not deliver, they panicked and sought help from Francis Libiran for a new wedding gown and suit.  With less than two weeks before the wedding, Francis charged them 195,000 Php for the rush job.  As compensation, they demanded that Puey should shoulder the additional 45,000 Php for the damages he caused.  Jhon went on saying:

"Money cannot and will never replace the burden and emotional damages that Puey gave to our lives. Yun lang ... Anyways, it's all done ...  The good news for us now is we received what is due to us. And I'm happy now that we don't have to argue or deal with Puey anymore."

I am glad that I was able to help Jhon using my Facebook and blog.  After all, this is the reason why I started this blog.  My fashion advocacy is to help clients who are clueless about the Pinoy world of fashion.  I want clients to know whom they can trust and whom they can not.

Thank you Jhon for entrusting your story to me.  I did not know you prior to the Fashion Scam story and now I feel close to you.  Thank you for inviting me to your wedding on March 5.  I will be there.

Fashion PULIS! is first to reveal this story. Follow me on twitter: micsylim.

Desiger Offered 2 Gives to Fashion Scam Victims

Fashion Designer Puey Quinones Offered to 2 Gives to Fashion Scam Victims

Source: Yahoo News

Naging laman ng ilang online websites, blogs, and networking sites ang tinaguriang "fashion scam."

Nagsimulang kumalat ang mga larawan kaugnay sa sinasabing isyu nang i-post ng TV celebrity na si Kat de Castro ang isa sa mga ito sa kanyang Twitter noong Martes, Pebrero 15. Sa caption, ito ang mababasa: "The designer asked 30k for this suit. Pero bakit may Dansen tag? Sa SM ito di ba? Napeke kaya yung friend ko?"

Base sa artikulong inilabas ng fashion website na Stylebible.ph ngayong araw, Pebrero 17 nag-order raw ng custom-made suit si Jhon Maala para sa kanyang kasal. Ilang beses daw sinubukan ng groom na makipagkita kay Puey para sa fitting pero madalas hindi ito nangyari. Hanggang isang araw ay naipadala na ang suit na nagkakahalagang P30,000.

Subalit napansin ng groom na dalawa ang label ng suit na kanyang natanggap: isang "Bobon" by Puey Quiñones na nakatahi sa mismong suit at "Dansen" naman sa loob ng inner pocket nito.

Ang Dansen ay isang brand na hawak ng SM Department Store. At sa isang litrato na na-post ni Michael Lim sa Facebook, makikita rito ang unaltered Dansen suit, na nagkakahalaga umano ng P3,300.

Si Puey Quiñones ay kilala bilang isang bridal designer sa fashion industry. Isa sa kanyang mga naging kliyente ang TV personality na si Cheska Garcia.

BOBON REACTS. Unang nang naglabas ng statement sa Facebook ang may-ari ng Bobon. Nakasaad dito na, "BOBON is not in any way involved in the design, production or sale of the suit in the photo, or the affixing of the 'BOBON by Puey Quinones' label to the suit."

Nilinaw din sa note na, "BOBON is not affiliated with any one designer. Although the label "Bobon by Puey Quinones" was initially used in 2008, this label was discontinued more than a year ago. Since 2010, all BOBON pieces simply bear the label 'BOBON.'

"We have no knowledge of how the label 'Bobon by Puey Quinones' ended up in the suit in the Facebook post as we have used every effort to reclaim and destroy these old labels. We are certain that this suit was not purchased by the owner from or through BOBON."

Sa kabilang banda, nilinaw naman ng bride na si Shea Gamboa na walang kinalaman ang may-ari ng Bobon sa naging problema nila kay Puey. Sabi pa niya sa isang comment sa Facebook thread, "The transaction was between the couple and the designer. So don't worry. You're [owner of Bobon] out of this."

"I REGRET THAT ALL THIS HAPPENED." Samantala, sa artikulo pa rin ng Stylebible.ph, nailathala ang opisyal na statement naman ng fashion designer.

Ito ang kabuuang pahayag ni Puey: "Regarding the recent "fashion scam", I regret that all this happened. First and foremost, I would like to apologize to the couple for all the trouble that it has caused them.

"I was simply pressured to create a suit and found a perfect blank canvas to develop. I know the entire situation could have been handled better but now it has just been blown out of proportion and affected so many others.

"I assure all concerned that I am doing the best that I can to fix this situation. I have been in contact with the party involved and intend to settle this peacefully.

"To the couple who brought attention to this matter and to everyone else that have raised concerns over the quality of my service as a designer... I am sorry.

"I am doing all that I can to make sure that this does not happen again.

"Thank you for your understanding and for your concern."

NO TO NEW SUIT. Sa Twitter post ni Kat noong Pebrero 15, sinabi nito na hiniling ni Puey na ibalik na lamang ang Dansen suit at gagawa na lamang siya ng bagong suit. Ngunit ang kasalan ay mangyayari umano in less than two weeks.

At kaninang umaga, nag-tweet muli ang Trip na Trip host. Sinabi niya na nangako si Puey ng refund, "Pero 2 gives. Needless to say, my friend went to another designer for help."

Sinabi rin niya, "I never thought many people would react to it. All I wanted was to help a friend out. Sana hindina mangyari ulit."

Follow me on twitter: micsylim.

Apology from the Designer

Before going to my class this morning, I received a text message from Jae de Vera Pickrell of StyleBible.ph. asking about the Fashion Scam post I made. A few hours later, she sent me another message to inform me that the designer already issued an apology.

Apology from the Designer
Source: http://www.stylebible.ph/fashion/style-report/the-dansen-debacle

Last Tuesday, a scandal made the rounds of social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, which involved an engaged couple and a Filipino designer who reportedly scammed them. Based on the threads, the story is as follows.

The groom, Jhon Maala, ordered a custom-made suit from designer Puey Quiñones for his wedding to Shea Gamboa. After several arduous tries to meet with the designer for fittings, in which the latter frequently did not show up, a suit was finally delivered to Maala, for which he was charged P30,000. But he discovered it was not what he had ordered. He received a suit carrying two labels: BOBON by Puey Quiñones, and a Dansen care label tucked into the suit jacket's hidden pocket. (Dansenis a brand carried by SM Department Store.)

Kat de Castro, a dear friend of Maala and Gamboa, posted the following photo of the jacket in question on her Twitter account, with the caption: "The designer asked 30k for this suit. Pero bakit may Dansen tag? Sa SM ito di ba? Napeke kaya yungfriend ko?"

The fiasco quickly spread online, with Chuvaness retweeting de Castro's post and Michael Lim uploading the photo on his Facebook account together with a photo of an unaltered Dansen suit, intact with the Dansen logo and care label, which retails for P3,300. Lim's post generated over a hundred comments, some of which hint at other malpractices by other designers.

Maala and Gamboa are undoubtedly upset about the situation, but they have already taken steps to resolving the issue. "I talked to Puey already and we're trying to fix everything legally and emotionally," Maala says in the Facebook thread.

Gamboa has also absolved BOBON, commenting, "To the owner of Bobon... just want to let you know that the transaction was between the couple and the designer. So don't worry. You're out of this." BOBON has also issued an official statement, declaring that "BOBON is not in any way involved in the design, production or sale of the suit in the photo, or the affixing of the 'BOBON by Puey Quinones' label to the suit."

Quiñones, meanwhile, has expressed his regret in an email to this writer. "I have been so stressed by this issue and I hope that this statement will finally bring an end to all of this. I just want to move on and focus on more worthwhile things in life."

The following is Quiñones's official statement and public apology:
Regarding the recent “fashion scam”, I regret that all this happened. First and foremost, I would like to apologize to the couple for all the trouble that it has caused them.
I was simply pressured to create a suit and found a perfect blank canvas to develop. I know the entire situation could have been handled better but now it has just been blown out of proportion and affected so many others.
I assure all concerned that I am doing the best that I can to fix this situation. I have been in contact with the party involved and intend to settle this peacefully.
To the couple who brought attention to this matter and to everyone else that have raised concerns over the quality of my service as a designer... I am sorry.
I am doing all that I can to make sure that this does not happen again.
Thank you for your understanding and for your concern.

We hope Maala, Gamboa, and Quiñones will resolve this issue peaceably, and that both parties will move on with strength and courage from this unfortunate incident. We also hope that this fiasco will be a deterrent to delinquent designers who do not always practice proper business ethics. The Philippine fashion industry is gifted with too many truly talented and hardworking designers to be besmirched irrevocably.

Follow me on twitter: micsylim.

Official Statement of BOBON

After Ulysses King read my post on Facebook, he called me to clarify the relationship between BOBON and the designer in question.  He told me that BOBON will release an official statement.  Here it is!

Follow me on twitter: micsylim.

Fashion Scam

Fashion Tweet of Kat de Castro:
"The designer asked 30k for this suit. Pero bakit may Dansen tag? Sa SM ito di ba? Napeke kaya yung friend ko?"

A client went to the designer to have a wedding suit custom made. He paid 30t for the suit only to find out that the designer bought the suit from DANZEN (SM?)

Message from BOBON's Management:
Spoke to the owner of BOBON (the store), he explained that the said designer is no longer a partner but apparently still uses the tags/labels left with him. I feel bad for the owner of BOBON.

Message from the CLIENT:
To the owner of Bobon... just want to let you know that the transaction was between the couple and the designer. So don't worry. You're out of this. By the way, I just hope that we'll be the last couple to be treated like this.

Update:
The supposed owner of this suit will be wearing Francis Libiran to his upcoming wedding on March 5.

Follow me on twitter: micsylim.