Pageant stalwart Rodin Gilbert Flores has announced the rebirth of Kagandahang Flores (KF) beauty camp as they plan to open their doors to beautiful collaborations and inspiring new partnerships.
"Let our queens be the face and voice of your brand. Allow our brightest stars to represent your campaigns. It is our most fervent desire not just to leave a trace but, also, make a mark," said Rodgil during the online relaunch of the KF recently.
Make-up artist and KF co-founder Gio Flores KF will embrace the new norm in their beautiful online journey.
"We're embracing the new norm. We plan to carry out through the development of online modules and by conducting online trainings," Gio said.
Gio also talked about the camp's adaptability to the current pandemic.
"We will be responsive to the times. We are embracing the new norm. Our camp is quite a large facility, so face-to-face training is still possible. But we will be observing strict quarantine and health protocols," Gio added.
Rodgil said: "Kagandahang Flores is neither shedding old skin nor putting on new airs. It is, quite simply, renewing its commitment to women and Filipinos wherever they may come from, whichever creed they may hold, whatever lot in life they may have been dealt. A KF's beauty is no skin-deep siren; she is an empowered woman, a champion of social justice, a world citizen with a purpose. She paves her own road and makes her own journey, so that others may follow suit."
In a nutshell, Rodgil said he wanted to engineer - to give meaningful shape and form - to the lives of beauty title aspirants, and also to learn about the chemistry (or the magical alchemy) of what makes beauty pageants tick.
Though raised as a politician's son and educated as a chemical engineer, he knew as early as 1974 - marveling at the country's staging of Miss Universe on TV - that he cared about different chemistry, and that he longed to be an engineer in a different sense altogether.
In 1995, a friend of Rodgil asked if he could mentor a girl who had a shot at a title in a variety-TV pageant. He said yes, and she snagged the crown.
Then in 1996, KF - purportedly the first local camp offering training for pageant candidates - was established.
Queens groomed by the KF include Miss International 2005 Precious Lara Quigaman, Miss Earth 2008 Karla Henry, Miss International 2013 Bea Rose Santiago, Miss Earth 2014 Jamie Herrell, Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong, and Miss Earth 2017 Karen Ibasco.
Mentors of the queens include Angelo Mendez, nutrition and fitness; Michael Dimapinto, Q&A, current events and public speaking; Andrew Bryan Galleguez, make-up; and Karen Loren Agustin, personality development and image styling.