Lea in Oliver Tolentino

Lea Salonga (photo) walked the New York Fashion Week runway last Feb. 8 in a gown by LA-based Filipino designer Oliver Tolentino for the American Heart Association’s annual charity event Go Red For Women Red Dress Collection. The evening features Hollywood celebrities walking the runway in dresses by different fashion designers. Lea opened the show with a rendition of OneRepublic’s I Lived.

Then, Lea walked the runway in Oliver’s red silk chiffon gown with hand-sewn lace bodice and accents at the waistline. In the online stream of the show, Lea clearly felt confident in her gown as she waved, winked and blew kisses to the capacity New York audience. Other celebrities present included Kate Walsh of

Grey’s Anatomy (in Rubin Singer), Melissa Joan Hart of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Tatyana Ali, Elisabeth Rohm of Law and Order, model Niki Taylor (in Badgley Mischka), supermodel Kathy Ireland (in Marc Bouwer) and reality TV star Rachel Lindsay of The

Bachelorette (in Pamella Roland). The event was presented by Macy’s and held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.

As Funfare reported last month, when Tony winner Bobby Lopez wore a piña tux by Oliver to the Golden Globes, Oliver became the first Filipino designer to dress all three Tony winners of Filipino descent: Lea, Bobby and producer Jhett Tolentino.

Lea is currently working in New York as part of the Broadway revival of Once On This Island. Oliver works out of boutiques in Beverly Hills, California, and Makati.