JUDE MACASINAG top and skirt and INCARNEM rings. Photographed by Josefina Bietti for the May 2026 Issue of Vogue Philippines
A sunny day at a UNESCO World Heritage site, backdropped by Venetian scenes.
In the UNESCO World Heritage city, sartorial grandeur curiously fails to look out of place. Perhaps it is owing to Venice’s rich beauty, hidden in plain sight; “in which even the smallest building contains works by some of the world’s greatest artists such as Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and others,” as UNESCO’s website reads. The historical city after all is home to the Venice Biennale, celebrated for bringing together the finest works in art, architecture, cinema, dance, music, theatre, and more.
The gold coordinates worn by model Maggie Cheng were designed by Jude Macasinag. The top is crafted from bugle beads that formed his signature siren motif, while the skirt is composed of feathers in gold lamé that were individually-cut, shaped, and hand-frayed. Present, too, are abundantly textural looks from Bottega Veneta, Viola, and Gonzalo García-Marina, a men’s trench coat from Sophie Gontard. Up a set of steps is another Macasinag piece: a grand opera coat in heavy paper taffeta, the color of sunshine.
Room for more voices in fashion abound. In April, the doors of Fondazione Dries Van Noten received guests for the first time with The Only True Protest Is Beauty, a presentation across three floors and 20 rooms of Palazzo Pisani Moretta that will run until October of this year. “Venice, with its layers of living craft, and the way you see artisanal skills alive in daily life, seemed the perfect place. And so we began to develop the idea of the Fondazione Van Noten: a space to showcase and nurture the art of making in all its forms,” Van Noten told Vogue’s Tiziana Cardini.
The fashion designer was simply opening up about his vision for this new venture, but his words distilled, too, the relentless creative pulse of the city itself.
By TICIA ALMAZAN. Photographs by JOSEFINA BIETTI. Styling and Creative Direction by ALEXANDRE DORNELLAS. Deputy Editors: Trickie Lopa and Pam Quiñones. Vogue Philippines Executive Producer: Anz Hizon. Beauty: Sara Bergaglio using NABLA Cosmetics. Videography: Victoria Cliffe. Fashion Production: Kaio Berguer and Ana Beatriz Lazaro. Videography Assistant: Marcus Werneck. Video Color: Àdria P. Carrilero. Photography Assistant: Marco Barigazzi. Retouch: Romulo Koerich. Model: Maggie Cheng. Casting: Timoer Nulens. Executive Production: Ana Camiza.
Special thanks to Palazzina Grassi Hotel and Il Palazzo Experimental.
