Vogue Philippines February 2025 issue cover revealed: The Culture Issue
Vogue Philippines Pays Tribute to the Stories of the Cordilleras
Vogue Philippines heads upward, to the cooler climes of the Cordilleras for its February 2025 issue.
In a fashion spread set in Baguio, models Lake and Fofai wear fresh fashion by Jor-El Espina, Jos Mundo, Ursua Ser Oliveros, Martin Bautista, Dennis Lustico, Adante Leyesa, Natalya Lagdameo, Golden Monstera, and more.
Kalinga creative Irene Bawer-Bimuyag shares the stories weaved into her colorful tapestries.
Born and raised in the Mabilong Village in Lubuagan, she learned to operate a backstrap loom in third grade.
“My life is, I think, really for [the] community; for my village. It comes naturally for me,” she says.
“I’m nothing without my community.”
Community is also top of mind at the Ili Likha Artists Watering Hole, an ongoing project between Kabunyan Tahimik and his father, the National Artist Kidlat Tahimik.
The photographer Kim Santos, who grew up in Baguio, recounts her interview with Kidlat where he “shared the philosophy behind Ili-Likha, why it’s meant to remain a work in progress, evolving like the stories it holds. He took us through the space, weaving meaning into every detail of the artworks we passed. And then he said something that’s stayed with me: Find your dwendes, your little selves inside. They’re the ones who whisper the stories you’re meant to tell.”
The stories of the mountains are also tales of warriors, and Islay Erika Bomogao, an Igorot, is proof.
The 24-year-old sits atop of the world rankings of the International Federation of Muaythai Associations.
“I think it’s the most beautiful martial art,” she says.
“It originated in Thailand and it’s infused with so much culture. It’s not just fighting; there’s also an artistic side. And the values Muay Thai instills: respect, tradition, fair play.”
Meanwhile, Cordillera Mountain Ultra founder and Cordillera Conservation Trust director JP Alipio has spent over a decade mapping and preserving the ancestral trail system that winds through these mountains.
“Trail running can be a way to tell the stories of these mountains and the people who live here,” he says.
Kidlat also shows off his “indio-genius” on the cover of Vogue Man Philippines this month.
He invites us into the Baguio home he has shared with wife Katrin de Guia, an academic and fellow artist.
They also share stories of indigenous wisdom, of “straying” on track, of having kapwa as a compass.
Other creatives in the lineup include Mark Wilson and the artists of Bangan Project Space.
“The mountains are too polite to remind us that we have transformed as well,” writes editor-in-chief Bea Valdes.
“Each time we arrive, we fail to realize that we are older. We don’t ride the ponies in circles anymore. We come wearing our own progress. We have our own children. We now use sunblock. Same, same, but different. We will be back soon.”
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