A petal doesn’t beg to be seen—it arrives, transforms the air around it, and vanishes on its own terms. That was the energy behind Alexa Ilacad’s look at the ABS-CBN Ball 2025: soft-spoken power, told through ombré tulle and a silhouette that moved like a memory.
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Designer Vee Tan turned the spring formal dress code into a study of subtle spectacle. When Ilacad’s glam team — stylist Patty Yap, hair stylist Justine Ocampo, and makeup artist Angeline Tan — floated the idea of cherry blossoms, it wasn’t the obvious prettiness that drew Vee in—but the duality. “Cherry blossoms represent new beginnings and life,” she says. “Alexa is at her fittest. She’s fresh, she’s stunning. It made perfect sense.”
Last year’s siren-worthy mermaid look gave way to something lighter—an A-line silhouette in pastel pinks, ombré-dyed to evoke movement and air. “It fits with my usual style,” Vee says. “Whimsical and ethereal.”
This wasn’t a gown for standing still. It was designed for someone who enters a room with presence but not noise. “Alexa is a strong young woman. She’s outspoken about her beliefs and also very inclined in arts and communication,” Vee shares. There’s a knowing in the gown, like it’s aware of the season the actress is in and then gently celebrates it.
And if the gown could speak? “I am soft yet well-spoken. Feminine yet bold. Full of stories of life—and that’s what makes me beautiful,” Vee says. It is not an accessory, but a mirror, reflecting where Alexa Illacad is now and the strength it took to arrive.
The ABS-CBN Ball may be one night, but the right dress lingers long after. “Time waits for no one,” Vee Tan says. “But cherry blossoms, when in bloom, leave behind beauty that stays with you.”
Photographed by KIM SANTOS of KLIQ INC.
