A piece from Heart Evangelista’s closet. Photo by Renzo Navarro
Heart Evangelista has six items in her wardrobe that she’ll treasure for the rest of her life. She sits down with Vogue Philippines to walk us through the memories attached to them.
Wardrobes are thresholds between the momentary and the everlasting. There are items we keep to crystallize a moment in time, keeping it projected in the realm of memory until the day we decide to wear it again arrives. When the time comes, we breathe into our pieces a new life, giving it new context and all the more reason to hold onto it.
For Heart Evangelista, whose archive of couture is famed around the world, there are pieces that she treasures the most, if only for their sentimental value. Below, the multimedia megastar and Vogue Philippines cover girl takes us inside her treasure trove for a deep dive into memory.
Days of youth: A Louis Vuitton monogram wallet
Evangelista has collected all of her wallets and pouches since she was young, but her favorite one is a Louis Vuitton wallet with its classic monogram. “It was my wallet when I was in grade school and high school. I loved it so much, and I kept it,” she tells Vogue Philippines.
Love, Heart: Disney watches from Rolex and Gérald Genta
In a similar vein, there are things we buy and collect to appease our inner child: things that spark childhood wonder. For Evangelista, it has always been Disney. Her watch collection includes a Mickey Mouse Rolex and a Scrooge McDuck Gérald Genta that she gifted herself as an homage to her younger self. “I always make sure that she’s well-nourished with these little things,” she muses.
“I like collecting fun pieces like this,” she explains. “I think it reminds you of your childhood, and how no matter how serious or, you know, how you’re just sometimes pressured by like all the things that the adult world throws at you, you always have to protect your inner child.”
Magic of first-times: Cartier LOVE bracelets
In her cover story with Vogue Philippines, Evangelista talks about the “magic of first times.” Each first time is something she regards dearly. For a front-row fixture at Fashion Weeks such as herself, she still remembers what she wore to her first-ever stint at the shows. “That was the season I always had my LOVE bracelets from Cartier stacked—on steroids! And I never removed [them],” she fondly remembered, grinning at the memory.
Style emblem: A Shadow Birkin 25
Throughout her time in fashion and the entertainment industry, Evangelista has gone through countless eras. There was her “white” era (when she wore all-white everything), her “bohemian” era, and even a surprising “surfer” era, but she told Vogue Philippines that, at this time in her life, she’d rather opt for “quiet luxury” over anything else. From her Hermès collection, she pulls out her favorite: an ivory Shadow Birkin in its compact 25 size. “I love it because it has zero hardware, and it’s just the embossed shape of the Birkin,” she says. “I love how silent it is.”
She explained that it’s the perfect piece for strolling the streets of Paris without a care in the world, only because it is so “lowkey.” She says, “I used to be very, very loud with my outfits, but now, as I get older, I like [my style] a bit more quiet and toned down.”
Parts of a whole: Collected diamond studs
Evangelista marks her milestones in diamonds: heart studs she bought herself as a teenager, an emerald-cut diamond ring and a pair of earrings from her mother, her engagement ring and gifted pendants from her husband Chiz Escudero—pieces that “I loved wearing, but I would wear them separately before.”
She’s since gotten the novel idea to transform the diamonds into a singular piece to wear as a necklace, carrying all her memories with her. “It’s a collection of different pieces I got throughout the years.”
Nostalgia for nostalgia: A vintage Versace handbag
The last item that Evangelista presents is a Gianni-era Versace patent crocodile handbag—a meaningful piece, not only because it’s the exact same one that Princess Diana carried on her arm when she attended the designer’s funeral, but because it belonged to Evangelisa’s mother. For a long time, it sat high on Evangelista’s shelves, untouched and seemingly out of reach. “I have never worn it,” she emphasizes. “As my style kind of evolved, I feel like now’s the best time to wear it because I felt like it was mature for me before, so I couldn’t.”
Being so immersed in the world of fashion, Evangelista tells Vogue Philippines that she realized how important it is to hold onto and carry these vintage pieces. “Now, it’s more valuable. I was too young to, you know, think about it before. But I’d definitely wear it with what I’m wearing today—a suit—or even like a nice, relaxed dress. It’s a classic.”
Photographs by Renzo Navarro. Digital Editor: Andrea Ang. Producers: Andrea Ang. Multimedia Artist: Bea Lu. Photographer’s Assistant: Dom Pamatmat. Production Assistant: Chelsea Sarabia. Shot on location at Studio Guijo.
