Meet The People Behind Opulence, The Over-the-top Halloween Party Of The Season

We know you can’t wait to see what goes on in Opulence, Raymond Gutierrez’s Marie Antoinette-inspired Halloween party. Neither can we. As the clock ticks closer to the night of the highly-anticipated Halloween party, allow Metro.Style to introduce you to the team behind this awaited night of pure revelry and bacchanalia. 

Raymond Gutierrez @mond

Last year, TV host and society personality Mond Gutierrez found himself in the midst of Los Angeles’ biggest and brightest, at a private party hosted by Adam Levine for Halloween. Completely inspired by that night, Mond thought: “If they can do it, I can do it in Manila, too. I feel like it’s really a time where we can escape reality, live in a fantasy land, live in a different world and be a different character for one night,” he says. 

As for the theme, Opulence—inspired by the infamously excessive and lavish young queen of 18th century France, Marie Antoinette—stemmed from a caption that his friend, stylist Liz Uy, had posted. “‘Opulence.’ I liked that word,” he says. “There’s a little bit of a buzz behind it, and when you think of Opulence, who do you think of? I think of Marie Antoinette: ‘Let them eat cake.’ So I just connected the two together.”

Mond reveals that this party is three years in the making. He’d always wanted to do something for the holiday, but something always happens and it doesn’t push through. “This year, I made the decision and said that this is gonna be the year I do a Halloween party.”

Ash Rye @ashrye

Of course, Mond can’t pull this off alone. Thankfully, he’s enlisted the help of some of the best people in the events planning and styling business, one of which is Ash Rye. “Her background is really in events production,” Mond says. “When I think of something crazy, or something creative, she’ll tell me if it’s doable or not.”

Ash, an events specialist, has been talking with him about how Manila is missing a party. Or rather, the party. “The theme Opulence,” she says, “Lucky enough for us is on trend and becoming even trendier. This is going to be the first Halloween extravaganza, we want it to be big, over-the-top. It’s classic fans, corsets, wigs; it’s food tables, crazy makeup.” 

La Belle Fête @labellefete

Leading events planner La Belle Fête made the party possible. “When Mond shared his dreams, at first he was hesitant because he’s not sure if it’s feasible in the Philippine setting,” say the Sitchons, La Belle’s CEO and COO. “When he talked to us, he’s a bit surprised that we can actually achieve it, that it’s possible to do it here in Manila.

“We admire Mond’s courage and bravery,” they add, “For exploring this unchartered territory, and most of all, we admire his humility to reach out, and ask for help from us. We’ve been doing big events in the Philippines for how many years now. It’s really to showcase the talent of the Filipinos… of event curators here in the Philippines.” 

Check back for more updates on Opulence and the events stylists! 

Photographs by Daniel Soriano