IN time for the September Issue sweepstakes, Vogue Philippines recently launched its maiden edition. It’s the 29th Vogue since the fashion bible’s first issue was published in the United States 130 years ago, including the defunct New Zealand edition (which ran from 1957 to 1968) and the recently suspended Russian version (due to its invasion of Ukraine).
“My vision for Vogue Philippines is to lead the industry with purpose, leaning into our Filipino values of optimism, bayanihan [the spirit of helping others] and empathy through our stories. We celebrate craft and creativity, empowering our community and urging our Filipino culture forward,”says Bea Valdes, the world-renowned accessories designer and the mag’s editor in chief. She’s joined at the helm by Pam Quiñones as fashion director and Rhoda Campos-Aldanese as publisher.
SINGAPORE FLING
PERHAPS due to a lack of an official archive, fashion historians seem to have forgotten that it was Singapore that was the first Asian country to publish its own Vogue. Nancy Pilcher, then-editor of both Vogue Australia and Vogue Singapore, said its arrival in 1994 was “a nice twist from the days when Asia was where you did your manufacturing and not your marketing.”
The glossies in the 1990s were predominantly white, and for Vogue Singapore to put Chinese-American actress Joan Chen on its September 1994 maiden issue’s cover, shot by Singaporean photographer Russel Wong, was a step for Asian representation that was way ahead of its time. Thanks to the efforts of London-based Malaysian journalist Warren Hallett for tracking down old issues through his Instagram handle @voguesg, I learned that more homegrown models were spotlighted by the mag, including Pinay supermodel Lala Flores fronting December 1995 and Fil-Am model Valerie Celis for July 1995 and August 1996. Sadly, it lasted only until January 1997 with 29 issues in total.
However, the title was relaunched in Autumn/Winter 2020 with three covers featuring Singaporean model Diya Prabhakar photographed by Bryan Huynh, Chinese model Ju Xiaowen by Gregory Harris, and Japanese actress Nana Komatsu by Fish Zhang. It’s the first Vogue to launch post-Covid and post-Black Lives Matter. Interestingly, Fil-Am singer Olivia Rodrigo was the cover girl for October 2021.
LINDA EVANGELISTA: THE SUPERMODEL’S SUPERMODEL
EVEN if Singapore made great strides in Asian representation, Korea and Taiwan didn’t get the memo. Both of the countries’ Vogue covers splashed Linda Evangelista on their maiden issues via Vogue Korea August 1996 (shot by Mark Abrahams) and Vogue Taiwan October 1996 (by Steven Meisel).
Linda was still at the height of her supermodel powers and in that year, she was also the cover subject of Vogue Australia September, and the November issues of Vogue Germany, Vogue UK and Vogue US. Fast-forward to 2022: the Italian-Canadian Linda graces the big September issue of British Vogue in a sort-of comeback after a botched surgical procedure, still proving that she’s the GOAT.
WEST MEETS EAST
TO appease Asian readers who want to see their likeness on the covers, Vogue Japan (Nippon) presented Japanese model Mikiko Sasaki on its maiden September 1999 issue, photographed by Craig McDean, but paired with the British waif Kate Moss for international flair.
China and India featured a bevy of homegrown beauties for their maiden issues, both photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, but the Australian Gemma Ward was also front and center. For the September 2005 launch of Vogue China, there were Du Juan, Wang Wenqin, Tong Chenjie, Liu Dan and Ni Mingxi. For the October 2007 launch of Vogue India, the iconic stars included Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Monikangana Dutta, Preity Zinta and Lakshmi Menon.
However, the first Thai edition of Vogue, in February 2013, unveiled two covers of Thai icons photographed by the Swiss Hans Feurer: Si Tanwiboon and Bee Namthip.
GIGI GORGEOUS
PERHAPS the most groundbreaking edition is Vogue Arabia, which was launched in March 2017 with the Insta-Girl Gigi Hadid as the maiden cover girl shot by Inez & Vinoodh for two covers.
“Being half-Palestinian, it means the world to me to be on the first-ever cover[s] of Vogue Arabia, and I hope that this magazine will show another layer of the fashion industry’s desire to continue to accept, celebrate, and incorporate all people and customs and make everyone feel like they have fashion images and moments they can relate to…and learn and grow in doing so,” Gigi shared on her Instagram.
In March 2019, Gigi once again graced a maiden issue, that of Vogue Hong Kong, shot by Nick Knight and sharing the spotlight with Chinese supermodel Fei Fei Sun.
VOGUE PHILIPPINES
I WAS expecting Kapuso actress and artist Heart Evangelista, a darling of international luxury brands (and huge advertisers), to be the cover of the inaugural issue. Also half-expecting our beloved beauty queens Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray, who both have massive social-media followings, to be in the running. Maybe Victoria’s Secret Angel Kelsey Merritt was a contender, too. But, ultimately, the Fil-Am model Chloe Magno is an inspired choice and perfect representation to be our maiden cover girl. She’s done campaigns for Chanel Jewelry, Zara Beauty, Nars Beauty, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Kenzo Eyewear, and Miu Miu shot by Steven Meisel. She’s the cover subject for Vogue Korea March 2022, Vogue Thailand Beauty December 2021, CR Fashion Book Japan October 2021, and Vogue Japan September 2021. Chloe also appeared in American Vogue in April 2022. In the January 2022 issue of British Vogue, she shared her “Reflections on Beauty” and her pride in her heritage:
“I love seeing more Filipino people being represented. When I was growing up, I didn’t see a lot of that. And it caused me to be really confused and ashamed about my heritage. I’m glad that I can kind of fill that role myself now for other people. I feel the most represented seeing just so many people of so many different backgrounds, races coming to the forefront because I don’t think it’s necessarily about one type of person, one culture, one race. As we go into the future, everything is becoming more mixed. And that, I think, is beautiful.” n