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MANILA,  August 11, 2004 (STAR) By Ching M. Alano - Think Pinoy fashion and probably the first name that comes to mind is Pitoy Moreno. Who doesn’t know this man once hailed as Asia’s fashion czar? His collections have girdled the globe since the 1960s: Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Sweden, Vienna, Moscow, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Honolulu, Teheran, Morocco, Tokyo, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, China, among other cities. He’s dressed up royalty, First Ladies, heads of state and assorted VIPs. The barely five-foot-tall Pitoy may as well have stood 10 feet tall as he wowed ’em all in shows here and abroad.

To salute the man who put the Philippines on the fashion map of the world, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Gawad Kalinga are staging "Ginintuang Moreno: A Tribute to J. Moreno" on Oct. 26 and 27 at the CCP. Imelda Cojuangco, one of Pitoy’s muses, is chairperson for the gala night on Oct. 26 while Tingting Cojuangco takes over on the second night, Oct. 27. And yes, there’s going to be a third night, with co-chairpersons Marissa Concepcion and Vicky Cuisia, though no date has yet been set. The show, directed by Floy Quintos, features JMoreno’s timeless couture for the benefit of the CCP’s Arts for the People Program and Gawad Kalinga. To keep things humming are featured guests Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company, Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theater and Philippine Madrigal Singers.

Truly, Pitoy has reaped what he sewed. "All these 40 years, I’ve been putting up shows all over the world," says a truly proud Pitoy. "It’s not about me – it’s about the best of Philippine fashion, the best Filipino models, the best Philippine material. Everywhere I go, I try to promote our culture. I’ve exposed our piña, hablon, and accessories like tambourine. That’s why they called me the fashion czar of Asia. The tag came from a review that appeared in Honolulu...