Homme et Femme Brings Together Veteran Creatives for Their Latest Campaign

Jun de Leon lenses Mandy de la Rama for Homme et Femme, marking a collaboration that “exemplifies the merging of classic influences with modern creativity.”

Before managing director Jappy Gonzalez founded the multi-brand store Homme et Femme in 1996, he served as a designer, buyer, and eventually head of the merchandising division for the men’s section at Cinderella, one of the country’s leading fashion retailers during his time. After two weeks on the job in 1985, general manager Therese Coronel-Santos asked him to produce a collection, which would later be called “Japs.”

Gonzalez’s first fashion line is what comes to mind when photographer Jun de Leon is asked about his Homme et Femme Fall/Winter 2024 campaign. “My initial thoughts were filled with pride, and a sense of nostalgia because it reminded me of shooting the very first brand of Mark [“Jappy”] Gonzalez, Japs! This collaboration simply exemplifies the merging of classic influences with modern creativity.”

The project might register as de Leon’s comeback for some, but the lensman insists: “I never left. But there was no opportunity to do conceptual fashion photography, which I love doing.” When the industry as a whole seemed to pivot toward commercial content, he yearned to take a more abstract and artistic direction, which is why, he says, “when I was approached for this collaboration with Homme et Femme and the iconic Mandy de la Rama, I was officially flattered.”

Designer and cook Mandy de la Rama, according to Gonzalez, “had been my lunchtime visitor in the ’90s.” Mandy remembers this fondly, saying, “Jappy’s Homme et Femme was my lunch break for years. What I earned in a month, I’d spend all in his store in a day.”

The genesis of the trio’s creative connection can be traced to right before the aughts, back when Jappy and Jun had first began working together in the ’80s. Their collaboration bled into editorial pages of magazines, especially in the now-defunct Folio magazine. Mandy adds, “I have worked with Jun in the past and it was terrifying, the difference now is after seeing me in front of the camera, I might have terrified him this time,” she laughs. “Being back in front of the camera is humbling.”

And yet in de Leon’s images, she stands tall and resolute, a fitting muse for both H&F and the brands they carry. Before de Leon’s lens, she is garbed in the boutique’s latest offerings: a tiered noir cape by Lebanese designer Maison Rabih Kayrouz, criss-cross ruched top by Alexandre Mattiussi of French brand AMI, and one-of-a-kind beaded jacket by British-Iraqi designer Walid Damirji, crafted from antique textiles.

If there’s one thing she and Jun believe in, it’s that these images, or any fashion image for that matter, are all about the clothes. “I’ve always had a deep passion for conceptual fashion photography because it allows me a level of creativity and storytelling that goes beyond traditional photography,” Jun expounds, citing a surrealist photograph from one of his previous shoots documenting a private collection of Christian Lacroix.

This reverence for garments and the hands and minds that make them are at the core of Homme et Femme, whose “eternal credo,” as the brand refers to it in a statement, is anchored on “a sense of irreverence that makes it relevant to its niche, and an exacting relevance that allows for it to be irreverent.” The campaign’s photographs and pieces featured in them can speak for themselves. It’s probably why, when asked about what makes this collaboration special and relevant today, Jappy simply replies: “Because it’s personal to me and my brand.”