Photographed by Mark Seliger for the June 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Vogue Thailand’s founding editor-in-chief reflects on how discovering Anna Bayle as a student became his gateway to Southeast Asian representation in fashion.
Growing up as a young and aspiring fashion student in the mid-1980s was one of the most colorful and inspiring times of my life. The air itself seemed to shimmer with creativity and rebellion. We were captivated by British pop music and the drama of the New Romantic movement; that perfect blend of sound, style, and attitude that shaped how we saw the world.
Every weekend, Style with Elsa Klensch on CNN was our ritual, our portal into the “real” fashion world. It was our weekly masterclass and our source of inspiration. I videotaped every episode religiously, rewinding and rewatching them until the tapes nearly wore out. Names such as Versace, Lagerfeld, Montana, Mugler, Lacroix, and Ferré became part of our vocabulary, a pantheon of designers constantly featured both on Style and in Vogue.
I even subscribed to Women’s Wear Daily, though at the time I hardly understood half of what I was reading. It simply felt essential, as if the secret language of fashion would eventually reveal itself to me through those pages. Each Saturday, I invited my fellow fashion students over for a “Style viewing party.” We’d rewatch the episode, pause it frame by frame, and then stage our own version of a runway show right there in the living room.
There was Kirat, my elegant friend from South India; Delma, my fiery best friend from Latin America; Toko, my cool and composed classmate from Japan. And then there was me, always taking on the role of Anna Bayle.
The first time I noticed Anna, it wasn’t just her striking beauty that caught my attention; it was her walk. The way she glided across the runway, her jet-black hair cascading like ink, her expression calm yet commanding. I studied every movement: the twirl and spontaneous shrug of the coat at Patou, the effortless hair flip at Oscar de la Renta. I practiced those gestures until I could mimic them almost perfectly.
Back then, there weren’t many Asian faces on the international runways. There was Ariane, the Korean-American model who starred in Year of the Dragon; Sayoko and Toko from Japan; and Kirat from India, who had come slightly before Anna’s time. But Anna Bayle, from Southeast Asia, was different. She was one of us. Seeing her up there, owning the runway alongside the greats, was like watching the door to our part of the world open, even just a little.
Anna wasn’t just a model; she was a trailblazer. She broke barriers of representation and redefined what beauty could look like. Beyond her work on the runway, she championed and supported other Southeast Asian talents, helping designers such as Zang Toi and Josie Natori gain visibility in New York’s competitive fashion scene.
Years later, when I met Bea, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Philippines, for the first time before the magazine’s inaugural issue, I remember joking, “I hope your first cover will be Anna Bayle!” We both laughed. So you can imagine my delight when, years later, Anna graced the cover. It felt as though a dream from my student days had finally come full circle.
By the time I began attending shows in Paris and Milan in 1997, Anna had already retired from modeling. Yet her spirit lingered on every catwalk I watched, in every model who walked with conviction and grace. My most vivid memory of her remains that unforgettable Versace show, where she appeared radiant in a gleaming chainmail dress, sharing the runway with Iman, Yasmine Le Bon, and Gail Elliott.
For me, Anna Bayle will always be more than a fashion legend. She was the first face that told me, and countless others from Southeast Asia, that we belonged on that stage, too.
By KULLAWIT LAOSUKSRI. In this story: Photograph by MARK SELIGER. Talent: Anna Bayle. Executive Producer: Ruth Levy. Producer: Madi Overstreet. Beauty Editor: Joyce Oreña. Stylist: Daniel Edley. Tailor: Susan Balcunas. Makeup: Francelle Daly. Hair: Adam Makarian. First Assistant Digi-Tech: Romy Kirchauer. BTS Videographer: Adam Dowling. Nails: Nail Technician Honey at Exposure NY. Stylist’s Assistant: Grace Providencia Wagner.
