Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i VOGUE PHILIPPINES

Thousands of sampaguita flowers are strewn at the base of the mirrored pedestal on which H.E.R. stands, catching the final rays of the afternoon. As the sun closes into the horizon, our little spot in Nueva Ecija swells with cheers of encouragement and awe. Cocooned in a couture coat of tulle and crystals by Aliétte, the 24-year-old Oscar winner and five-time Grammy awardee shifts for the camera, surefooted and secure, claiming her space in the Zeitgeist. When planning for H.E.R., it was vital that Filipino designers were part of the narrative. Pieces from Randolf, Alrey Rosano, and Inno Sotto represent this revolution in the Philippine fashion identity. As we wrap up, the scent of sampaguita rises from the ground, rousing memories of childhood and church. The team will remember this…

Pockets boast the ability to be both functional and decorative. Take cues from Louis Vuitton's strategic squares that offer the perfect utilitarian fit for outdoor and indoor fashion expeditions. Peak practicality need not look boring; Fendi and Versace's high shine cargo trousers in gleaming blush and midnight gloss prove it.…

DANIEL LEE IS SITTING IN A PENTHOUSE SUITE AT CLARIDGE'S IN AN ARMY GREEN SWEATER, SPORTY BLACK PANTS, AND NIKES. It is mid-November, and beyond the French doors behind him, a sweeping view of drizzly London is visible; Big Ben stands in the distance. The night before, Lee was at Chiltern Firehouse, reconnecting with local fashion reporters and at least one of his former professors from Central Saint Martins, and his throat is a bit sore. “It was nice to do it in that kind of environment,” he says. “You know, when I'm not exhausted from a collection.” Lee, who is 37, was named chief creative officer of Burberry last September, just days after Riccardo Tisci's final show for the British heritage brand. It's a homecoming for the designer—his creative…

As the Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day signal an advent of new beginnings and a celebration of revitalized romance, wearing the colors that mark February's providential spirit becomes all the more inviting. Adorn yourself in the season's color palette of choice: red. From Chanel to Hermès, Shiseido, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Clé de Peau Beauté, M.A.C Cosmetics, Estée Lauder, Chanel, and NARS, start the season strong with bold and playful statements. Color your lips red, a stroke of luck for the new year, pronouncing prosperity and happiness to ward off worries that may come your way. Make the stars align with luminous foundations, brightening and revitalizing serums, scarlet-poppy eyeshadows, and glow blush recipes that put you in the best light. This month, let felicity and fortune come abound in and…

INTO THE LIGHT When she was growing up, LAN SAMANTHA CHANG’s family declared they wouldn't celebrate any holidays. But in the dark of winter, they redisco vered the joy and renewal of the LUNAR NEW YEAR. MY PREPARATIONS FOR EACH LUNAR NEW YEAR BEGIN IN THE BATHROOM. On Lunar New Year's Eve, I turn on the hot water and let the air fill with steam. With my bare toes curled against the chilly floor, I scissor off a lock of hair, clip my nails, and discard these symbolic crumbs of bad luck into the trash. Then I get in the shower, where I suds and scour and scrub down every inch of skin. “You have to wash off all of the bad luck from the year before.” This was my…

WHAT DO YOU GET when you combine A) a Stanford computer science graduate who built and scaled the McDelivery platform to reach over 10 million users with B) the founder of Care.com and the first Filipino American woman CEO of a publicly traded internet company? You get a Hogwarts-like magical school where the rewards for learning spells (of code) are NFTs and crypto. You get the promise of onboarding one million developers to Web3, with a special focus on Filipino devs. Above all, you get an entirely new mode of education, where your campus is the metaverse, learning is incentivized, and real jobs await those who finish the course. Kevin Yang and Sheila Marcelo had never met prior to being introduced at the NFT.NYC conference in November of 2021. They…

ELIZABETH HSIEH Makeup Artist, Fallen Angel Culture is: all the collective values, beliefs, and ways of life that are shared between us. It's an expression of ourselves as individuals and also how we connect with each other as communities; our shared identity and humanity. RAYMOND ANG Writer, Her Story Culture is the Western art world's rediscovery of Pacita Abad's oeuvre, Dolly De Leon championing Marilou Diaz Abaya's Karnal during her Letterboxd interview, queer kids coming together prepandemic at the Escolta Block Party and Catalina Africa playing violin in public again, for her recent Silverlens show. WOURI VICE Stylist, Her Story The idea of culture is so crucial to how we see and introduce ourselves to the world. Culture is what makes us all unique in how we share our stories.…

Rubellites, imperial topazes, tourmalines, mandarin garnets, and diamonds are set in intricately carved golds, providing an ornamental finish to an efflorescent expression. Tiffany & Co.'s Schlumberger collection is a dazzling display of diamond foliage, precious stones, and golden South Sea pearls. Diving in deep, the Fire Anemone clip and pendant are an enticing choice with an emeraldcut orange tourmaline, orange spessartines, pink sapphires, and brilliant round diamonds.…

DESIGNER FEATURE WHEN JOSIE NATORI GREETS US, she's dressed in a red-orange poplin dress and patent pointed-toe kitten heels, her makeup softly done. We're in her brother's towering marble-floored villa shaded by palm trees all around, and Spanish-style balconies are attached to nearly every second-floor room. The way Josie glides through glass doors and perches on plush couches, you wouldn't have known that she had just barely arrived from a work trip to Siargao. Grace and ease, I would learn as the afternoon unfolded, is more than just signature and style for Josie Natori. “I believe in glamor 24/7,” says the designer, founder, and CEO. Though she always loved fashion, she didn't foresee this interest propelling her into the industry as a designer. Josie started in Wall Street when she…

WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE THE SEASON OF LOVE THAN BY REKINDLING IT IN A BOTTLE? Transport to your fondest memories through scents. This season of hearts, let the amorous blend of flowers, chocolates, and berries remind you of those who dwell in yours. Share intimate and intoxicating fragrances from 19-69, Hermès, Jo Malone London, Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford Beauty, and Prada—a curated selection of stories, like well-kept secrets between you and your loved one. Hold them close to you and let your perfume tell your story.…

From the ancient Greek words dia speiro, which means to sow over or scatter, the word “dispora” has come to mean many nuanced things to the Filipino people. We are after all a culture that for decades has moved to various domains in search of proverbial green pastures, while still maintaining a strong sense of nationalism and pride in one's identity. It is something that creative director Audie Umali and photographer Danilo Hess are quite privy to, with both New Yorkers being children of the immigrant experience. “Danilo and I have collaborated together for several years now, [and] being Filipino ourselves, we have always made it a mission to do projects that are Filipino-centric, and create opportunities that highlight Filipino models, whenever we can,” narrates Umali in an exclusive interview…

Budji has just “destroyed” his painting yet again, as we settle down in his living room, but this is nothing new. I am used to him painting a masterpiece today, only to instantaneously cover it with layers of acrylic the next day. I saw it happen in his design showroom/home in Bangkok more than a decade ago, where he lived briefly and made a name for furniture design in the Asean region. I saw it happen right in his home in Makati where I and other dinner guests fell in love with a vermillion image of a waterfall, the splash of water seemingly leaping out of the canvas—only for us to learn months later that it was already gone, buried under yet another image. To Budji Layug, the multi-hyphenate Filipino…

“YOU DON'T WEAR A TANK WATCH TO TELL THE TIME. I DON'T EVEN WIND IT YOU WEAR IT BECAUSE IT IS THE WATCH TO WEAR,” were words Andy Warhol once famously said about the Tank, a notable Cartier horologe that seemingly never left the American visual artist's wrist. It wasn't its utilitarian purpose that made the alligator-strapped 18k gold cabochon timepiece tick for Warhol. It was what the watch symbolized—an object of desire and a refined piece of art. This stylistic choice reverberated in the succeeding decades among the beau monde to procure wristwatchcs as a sartorial splendor. More than a hundred years since its launch, Louis Cartier's chronograph has seen numerous iterations in a variety of leather straps, casings, and finishes that are equally timeless and geometric as its…

Back in January 2020, Ternocon, a biennial convention and contest focused on the Philippine dress, was held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. A volatile scenario was brewing with the impending eruption of Taal volcano and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As terno-clad guests gathered at the lobby of the theater, a group of women in matching hijab and terno joined the assembly. It was for me the evening's most quiet yet resonant gesture that dissipated the impending doom. A few weeks earlier, I received a message from a contestant named Abdul Gaffar Dianalan to ask about the propriety of tweaking the terno in adherence to the Muslim community's principle of modesty. As a garment of honor, I thought that there should be ways for the terno to…

Our sense of identity is often influenced by our surroundings. More so, what we see in the media and how we relate to it. The media's portrayal of Asian culture has been subpar up until the last five to 10 years, when we've finally seen an increase in visibility and representation in mainstream titles. Films such as Crazy Rich Asians, Parasite, Minari, and, more recently, Everything, Everywhere All at Once have placed Asian creatives and talent at the forefront. No longer in the shadows, legends like Michelle Yeoh have finally been given the limelight and attention they deserve. They now grace almost every major magazine cover, despite having a long successful career in film and television. In fashion, brands like Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Anna Sui, Opening Ceremony, Vera Wang,…

ONE OF THE MANY ENDURING IMAGES I HAD GROWING UP was that of my mother in a peaceful daze. Whenever I would go inside her room to wake her from a nap, I would always find her in curious straits: On one side, a tiny vial of White Flower would be lying beside her head next to an inhaler. On the other side, by her hands, is a well-used bottle of Efficascent Oil slowly turning the surrounding sheets its distinct, deep green shade. Unseen but definitely present are a few patches of Salonpas around her body, and perched almost acrobatically on the tip of her nose is an open container of Vicks Vapo Rub. Always, she was a picture of rest, lightly snoring, wrapped embutido-like in one of her comfortable…

“You kind of know that the world is burning, so somehow you want to do your part… that's exactly how I felt” “CONFUSED.” Nadine Lustre was just asked how she would describe herself as an artist now as opposed to five years ago, and that one word answer flew out of her mouthfollowed immediately by laughter. “I mean, I think I'm getting somewhere. I never really know what I'm doing to be honest. And I still don't know what I want to do,” she admits. Forgive the celebrity's candor. Actually, don't. She isn't apologizing for her disposition, and rightfully so. “I don't feel bad about it, and I'm not ashamed of it. It's okay. It's what makes things exciting, you know. It's what makes me excited. Kasi if I plan…

WAVES OF IMMIGRANTS EMBOLDENED BY THE AMERICAN DREAM have made the US home to the largest number of Filipinos abroad. For many, that dream has morphed into a myth. For the Bay Area-bred Ibarra, her early experiences in America have only kindled her music, art, and activism. Born in Tacloban, Ruby Ibarra and her family migrated to California in 1991. When she was seven, she saw her mom take on a job as a McDonald's cashier, and then later, a welder at a manufacturing plant, despite being educated as an accountant back home. “She would come home with scars on her hands because she worked with large machinery. My mom is even shorter than me at four foot ten,” Ibarra shares. Ruby, now a rapper on the rise, beams in…

THE SPACE BETWEEN Photographs by DIEGO LORENZO JOSE Stylist CARLOS MANGUBAT PAGE 52 TEAM CREDITS: Stylist/Co-Producer/Writer: Carlos Mangubat. Copy: Giulia Brugliera. Makeup: Alphie Sadsad assisted by Paulina Król. Hair: Darren Sommer. Model: Sarah Ellen of IMG, Mason Heaven of Chadwick, Amanda Chan of Chadwick, and Kimberly Cruz. Cinematographer: Tavis Pinnington. Photographer's Assistant: Max Brown, Heather Fletcher, Mason MacKenzie Wood. Stylist's Assistant: Sophie Torrini and Marvi Barillo. Special thanks to Valerie Yum of Kult, and Eunice Ward of Chadwick. PAGE 52 Amanda wears LOUIS VUITTON PAGE 54 LOUIS VUITTON PAGE 55 Sarah wears LOUIS VUITTON and YSL earrings from Constantina Vintage PAGE 56 LOUIS VUITTON PAGE 58 Kimberly wears LOUIS VUITTON PAGE 59 YSL earrings from Constantina Vintage PAGE 60 Mason wears LOUIS VUITTON PAGE 61 LOUIS VUITTON trousers, THE FORE…