Vogue Faces Manila: A Representation of Filipino Beauty From Ilocos Norte to Mindanao

Aspiring models from all over the country came to participate in Vogue Thread Manila’s casting call.

With Manila’s abundance of opportunities, it’s no surprise therefore that most people who come into the city are dreamers. The same can be said for the aspirants of Vogue Philippines’ second casting call, which was held during the third day of Vogue Threads Manila.

Hailing from various regions of the Philippines and the world, models of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds came to the casting call to seize the opportunity. “It’s me fulfilling the childhood dream of being in magazines,” says 24-year-old aspirant Almario Cacnio, a freelance designer from Ilocos Norte. “We don’t have that much modeling presence there in Ilocos Norte, so I decided to move to Manila and explore castings here,” he says in a mix of Tagalog and English.

Pam Quiñones takes a photo of a casting call aspirant Meg Romulo. Photographed by Makie Cruz

The open casting’s panel included Vogue Philippines editors Pam Quiñones, Joyce Oreña, and Danyl Geneciran. Photographed by Makie Cruz

Aspirant Angeline Leaño in an interview panel with Pam Quiñones. Photographed by Makie Cruz

For former model and pageant queen Sheila Jovellanos, the casting call was an opportunity to push her own boundaries. “I decided to join the casting call [to see] whether, at my age, 53, [if] I can still give it a shot,” she says. She shares that initially, she was only interested in attending the first two days of Vogue Threads Manila, but one of her photographer friends encouraged her to do the casting call. “Not even in my wildest dreams [did] I think of being in a casting call again,” she says, beaming with excitement.

Models first took their digitals with photographer Kim Angela Santos and producer Julian Rodriguez at the photo station. Photographed by Makie Cruz

53-year-old aspirant Sheila Jovellanos. Photographed by Makie Cruz

Applicants await their interview for the opportunity to be in Vogue Philippines’ pages. Photographed by Makie Cruz

As with the Mindanao casting call, Vogue Faces Manila provided an opportunity for models to represent their communities. “What makes us Filipinos unique is [that] we have different types of beauty,” says Tausug model Hannahlie Aradji, who moved from Mindanao to Metro Manila. “As Tausug, we are brave people. I want to show them that we, the brave people, have the courage to do such things and join something like this.”

Manila’s Vogue Faces casting call drew in more than a hundred applicants from all over the Philippines. Photographs by Kim Santos

Against the backdrop of the country’s bustling capital, the Vogue Threads Manila casting call was more than a search for faces; it was a movement, a celebration of the Philippines’ diverse beauty. It shows that beauty, in all its forms, transcends age, background, and boundaries; it is timeless, inclusive, and authentic.

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