Nadine Lustre finds a serene moment among willow trees by the river Seine wearing Mich Dulce’s latest pieces.
Nadine Lustre fronts Vogue Philippines’ March 2024 issue, themed “Raising Hope” in the spirit of International Women’s Month. Visit vogue.ph everyday this month for daily features on inspiring women, as nominated by the people whose lives they’ve changed.
In the collective mind of young Twitter (now X) users, Nadine Lustre has been unopposed as President for a long time. But public office doesn’t interest the actress and musical artist; she would rather be a renaissance woman.
Not that she would describe herself that way. For the 30-year-old, it is not about gravitas or self-promotion; it will always be about her artistry, her heartfelt respect for the earth, and an unrelenting grind mindset that has been instilled in her from a young age. “I know a lot of people would probably relate, but I always talk to myself,” she shares. “And I always ask myself these things na parang, ano na ba. What are we going to do next? What do you want? Ano na ba plano natin? [what’s our plan?] I always ask myself that.”
Consider her 2023: A year removed from when she first appeared on the pages of Vogue Philippines, she has won another FAMAS best actress plum for her role in Yam Laranas’ Greed, launched Maison Bukana Wines with beau Christophe Bariou, wore everything from Slim Higgins and Rajo Laurel, to Mugler and Prada at her first Paris Fashion Week. She also put out music for the first time in two years with “Overgrown,” a track she did in collaboration with South Korean company Wild Entertainment. She says that the single was a tribute to her 20s, a period of “scars” and “lessons” gleaned from having a fish bowl celebrity life. “We all go through something, and we all have to grow from it. I mean, it’s part of growing,” she says in an interview last year. “Whatever it is that we go through, it’s essential to our growth, and as long as you keep accepting all of those challenges, you know, like, you keep growing and growing is inevitable, you can’t stop it from happening.”
Nadine isn’t shy about sharing what she’s learned over the years and voicing against outdated and toxic cultural notions. She believes Filipinos should be more open minded (“We only have this one concept for everything and we can’t move on… that applies to a lot of things, not just about my color. It’s not just about the standard of beauty. It’s tradition talaga. I think it’s very old. It’s very 1990s. It’s not inclusive… the world is so different now”) and should stop settling (“It applies to things in the house, between friends, work. But also when it comes to our country and how we are treated… that kind of attitude.)
And the Siargao habitue also wishes that everyone should stop being so capital-centric. “I find it weird na everyone wants to be in Manila. We’re so cramped up in this city… There are so many people here, para na tayong sardines here sa Manila. We’re so concentrated here kasi,” she says “I wish that eventually they would develop another city. Or another province so that we become decentralized.” Don’t mention it to her, but that sounds pretty presidentiable to us.
Photographs by ALLYSSA HEUZÉ. Fashion Director:PAM QUIÑONES. Makeup: Miki Matsunaga. Hair: Paul Nebres. Talent: Nadine Lustre. Producer: Anz Hizon. Production Assistant: Julia Magsino. Photographer’s Assistant: Emil Kosuge.
