Philippine blogger stirs a fashion revolution

Philippine blogger Bryan Yambao went from reading his mother's magazines to the front rows of the world's top catwalks at warp speed, as the Internet demolishes the exclusive barriers of high fashion.

Supermodel-thin and fond of wearing colourful hats, fur-collared cardigans and handbags, the 24-year-old is now an industry heavyweight who hangs out with the likes of supermodel Naomi Campbell and designer Marc Jacobs.

"If you ask me, all of my dreams have already come true. What else can you ask for," Yambao said in a speech at an independent fashion bloggers' conference in New York late last year.

Yambao's vehicle for fashion stardom is his online journal at www.bryanboy.com, which delivers fresh, irreverent, and witty critiques of the world's newest trends on expensive clothing and accessories.

The site attracts more than 200,000 unique visitor hits a day, while nearly 52,000 people follow his Twitter stream, giving the jet-setting former web designer from Manila awesome powers to thrash or promote a product.

The blog is also studded with money-spinning ads that would be the envy of fashion magazines that have only a small fraction of his readership.

Recent posts told of his labours to buy Prada's red men's wingtips ("It's the shoe of the season, no doubt") and how Hollywood stars Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher stole the thunder from fashion figures at a Sao Paulo show.

"I've heard several rumours that they were paid about half a million dollars to be here. Celebrities. They always f--- up the whole experience," Yambao ranted.

Drawing heavily on the Paris Hilton playbook, the blog is also as much a homage to the author as style, with photos of him in outrageous, gender-bending outfits.

"Shower me with attention and inflate my ego. Email photos of your love and I'll add you to my ever-growing collection. Be creative! Be spontaneous!" he wrote.

The biggest fashion labels indeed do work super hard to inflate his ego, as evidenced by one of his latest posts for the current fashion week in Paris.