Vogue Philippines is here to bring Filipino stories to the global stage, including those of our athletes and sports culture.
After months of anticipation and built-up excitement, tonight, Vogue Philippines finally launched its maiden issue.
Published under a license agreement between Condé Nast and MEGA Global Licensing. Inc., Vogue Philippines will be available on print and digital platforms, both highlighting the stories of Filipino voices through their own unique storytelling.
Without a doubt, Vogue Philippines will live up to its name and highlight all sides of the country’s culture. And knowing how deeply intertwined sports are in our blood, we know that many of us have been excited to see how the major title will capture this side of who we are as well.
(Spoiler alert: they definitely will.)
And with Vogue Philippines officially live, all our questions will be answered.
Before it’s in fashion, it’s in Vogue
Globally, Vogue is known for not only capturing the trends in fashion, culture, and society, but for setting these trends themselves. With MEGA Global Licensing, Inc.’s diverse team of passionate and experienced individuals, the Philippine edition will be no different.
The debut issue of Vogue Philippines marks the arrival of the media title’s 29th international edition, with a cover story featuring Chloe Magno, a Filipino-American model with roots in Davao.
Rajo Laurel nylon and abaca dress
The 36-page cover story puts the Philippines in the spotlight, featuring the Vogue Philippines team’s travels throughout the country. “[The Philippines] is front and center of the 28th edition of Vogue,” President of MEGA Global Licensing, Inc. Suki Salvador uncovers.
“I’ve had this dream to shoot around the Philippines for many, many years,” Salvador shares. “We went to all the major islands of the Philippines, and we tried to discover as many places that haven’t been photographed, maybe places you don’t even know of.”
Within the cover story, we will explore places in the Philippines like the lagoons of Bucas Grande, Surigao del Norte, the rock formations of Biri Island, Northern Samar, and the boulders at Tinipak River, Rizal.
Editor-in-Chief Bea Valdes writes in her Editor’s Note of the maiden issue, “Our waterways yield ways of thinking, enabling us to experience our ‘archipelagic nature’: how we are connected, not separated, by seas and a horizon.”
And although Vogue is known largely to be a fashion brand, Valdes ensures that they plan to do more than just scratch the surface of what this means for the Philippines.
“The maiden issue explores the concept of identity—what it is to be fashioned and shaped by our environment, our landscapes and by the people we cherish. It speaks of sustainable mindsets, in our own terms. It is filled with hometown heroes and global dreams all seen through Vogue’s unique lens,” she says.
Indeed, every aspect of Filipino identity is interconnected with one another. In recognizing this, the Vogue Philippines team shared with us that in keeping with their mission to explore identity, the sports of our country will be part of the conversation as well.
The stories in Philippine sports
As sports fans, we know how deeply embedded sports are within Philippine culture. Vogue Philippines knows this. The team divulged, sharing that they will feature voices from our local sports industry.
Aside from highlighting the scores and victories of our athletes, Vogue Philippines hopes to shed light on the realities of sports in the country. In an exclusive interview, Salvador shared that the editorial magazine hopes to explore the struggles that come with being an athlete, the challenges they must face, and the adversity they have to overcome.
Bringing these stories to light using Vogue’s voice is something we are definitely excited to see. Even in the world of sports, they recognize that there is more than what meets the eye, and they will allow us to discover new sides to the story.
Vogue Philippines also recognizes how sports have evolved into an entire lifestyle not just for athletes, but for us all. “[The] lifestyle of sports, wellness, sustainability—it all goes together. So we will feature stories like that,” Vogue Philippines’ publisher, Rhoda Campos-Aldanese shares.
As they have made clear, Vogue Philippines is not confined to one topic, one method of storytelling, or one voice. Rather, they are staying true to, as Valdes put it, our ‘archipelagic nature’—how so many unique stories can collectively make up one community.
Vogue Philippines will bring you into their world, one that is uplifting and inclusive and filled with the Filipino values of optimism, empathy, and the spirit of bayanihan.
Visit vogue.ph and follow @voguephilippines on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and @vogueph on Twitter.