Meet us at the Cordilleras, where craft, community, and indigenous wisdom reverberate through the land.
From a viewpoint at Mirador Heritage and Eco Park in Baguio, the sun rises over crests of colored rooftops, half-shaded by the line of the mountains. Listen closely, and you’ll hear the low hum of a city bustling with life, textured by the whir of the wind. Baguio glows from this perspective.
Color follows you through its streets. In the creative capital, craft is alive in vibrant city markets, electric tapestries from Narda’s, and flower farms that extend to the horizon. Color is present even when you don’t see it; beneath the pavement on Session Road, there are remnants of colored stone and ceramic, harking to the city’s mosaic-making history that lives on in an artist village just off the path. “Culture defines the character of the city,” Venus Tan, co-chairman of the Creative Baguio City Council, told Vogue Philippines in December. “The expressions come out because of our cultural heritage.”
Kinetic, local weaves and festive plaids visualize a dynamic energy that first reaches you through the senses: the soft rustle of pine tree leaves that loom overhead, the rush of crowds pouring into painted city jeeps, a confronting stillness between a shifting urban landscape and these roads that never change. Models Lake Cabrias, who the team scouted from its Manila casting call, and Fofai, who hails from the Kalinga region, hold handwoven lampshades on their hips and wear Filipino designers’ works inspired by the crafts that come out of our islands. Here, they prance between vast patches of green land and clear, blue skies, imbibing a vibrancy that is felt.
These vignettes aim to capture the spirit of a city and its dwellers immersed in art and life. Baguio glows from this perspective.
Beneath Baguio’s pine trees, Fofai and Lake wear JOR-EL ESPINA’s Iloilo-woven Hablon skirts as dresses. Perched on each of their hips are handwoven Candy lamps by NAZARENO/LICHAUCO x ZACARIAS 1925, composed of wicker and recycled plastic. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
A textural affair with LAWRENBERT’s raffia top and an URSUA SER ANGELO skirt, which references the burnayan clay jars of Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Plus, JOS MUNDO’s two-tone Marikina mules in the colorway Maui, inspired by the rugged landscapes of the island it’s named after. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Among the carved wares in Mondiguing’s Woodcraft, JOEY SAMSON’s intricate bookleaf skirt gets a casual touch, thanks to a GOLDEN MONSTERA Bombé bangle and pinstripe shirt from R/STUDIOS. The latter is an ode to the designer Renee De Guzman’s late father, who often wore striped button-downs. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
The flow of MARTIN BAUTISTA’s silk crepe dress, which takes after the ease of a kaftan, becomes grounded when paired with JACQUEMUS trousers. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Going full maximalism with an archival MARTIN BAUTISTA skirt, DENNIS LUSTICO top, and jacket crafted with lacquered wooden chips, and ADANTE LEYESA Coco necklaces that took years to form. The vintage components of these neckpieces were gathered throughout the designer’s local and international travels, and were combined with new materials for a contemporary touch. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
“The lingling-o is a typical earring of the Cordillera region,” says designer NATALYA LAGDAMEO. Symbolizing fertility, a pendant can be worn on its own or in a strand of multiples; in the case of the latter, the necklace is referred to as balituk or uway, which Lagdameo describes as “an important piece of adornment that was worn on special occasions.” Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
This coat by SIRIUS DAN was inspired by the handwoven fabrics from Buhi, Bicol, and is handpainted on the lapels. It is worn here with R/STUDIOS trousers, crafted with silk wool from leftover off-cuts from bigger clothing companies. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
MARTIN BAUTISTA’s delicate one-shoulder Japanese rayon knit dress is paired with a hefty GOLDEN MONSTERA bangle, made of kamagong wood, worn as an earring. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
From a viewpoint at Mirador Heritage and Eco Park, a cluster of aluminum roofs come alive at sunrise. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
According to RAJO LAUREL, his Ugnayan silk dress is “essentially inspired by the rope-making techniques of the local fishermen in my mother’s hometown of Zamboanganita, Negros Oriental.” Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Photographed by Geric Cruz for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
A quick stop at Ester Castro Kimayong’s fruits, vegetables, and snacks stall upon entering Baguio. Lake pays a visit in SANDRO DELA PENA’s two-tone top, which takes after “the layers, asymmetry, and contrast of one’s muscular organs,” and a deadstock printed jersey dress from NOVEL, worn as a skirt. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
It’s all in the head. NAZARENO/LICHAUCO x ZACARIAS 1925 Candy lamps are worn as hats, to top off a multi-panel SIRIUS DAN coat and R/STUDIOS trousers. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Fofai and Lake wear ensembles from Japanese label TAO. They’re set against a textile woven by Baguio’s very own Narda’s Handwoven Arts & Crafts, the project of Wilson and Narda Capuyan that began in 1970 in La Trinidad, Benguet. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
This LAWRENBERT raffia top pays homage to archipelagic thinking and the ways we all connect with one another. It is styled here with an URSUA SER OLIVEROS skirt and GOLDEN MONSTERA Bombé bangle. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
HARING’s hammered brass corset is meant to reflect the human form and “mimic the way the sun dances on waves at sunset, creating this dreamy, glowing effect that feels almost alive.” It is worn atop a LAWRENBERT top and skirt, and with stylist’s own platform heels. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Exploring the greenery at Camp John Hay, Fofai and Lake wear a jacket, skirt, and dress from TAO, described as “rustic” and “folksy” in a release from the brand, and which “sets her apart as the earthiest designer in the COMME [DES GARÇONS] stable.” Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
“This collection draws inspiration from the concept of highland dressing, reimagined for a contemporary context,” explains INO CALUZA of VIKTOR. The jacket and skirt deconstruct the kilt, a historically male attire, with hand-tied colored threads lending a distressed appearance to the fabrics. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
The Bombé bangle of Siargao-based GOLDEN MONSTERA is their thickest, and comes in polished kamagong wood to be worn for casual frolicks, and glossy brass for evening get-togethers. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Under clear skies, MARTIN BAUTISTA’s bias silk gown and GOLDEN MONSTERA’s Bombé bangle pick up hints of Baguio’s residential structures. Photographed by Borgy Angeles for the February 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Photographs by BORGY ANGELES. Fashion Director PAM QUIÑONES. Fashion Editor DAVID MILAN. Makeup: Booya. Hair: Mong Amado. Models: Lake Cabrias, Fofai of Mercator. Producer: Anz Hizon. Associate Producer: Julian Rodriguez. Nails: Extraordinail. Photographer’s Assistant: Rojan Maguyon. Stylist’s Assistant: Neil Anthonie de Guzman. Video: Lorenzo Corro. Retouching: Grace Sioson. Digital introduction by Chelsea Sarabia, with additional reporting by Patricia Villoria. Special thanks to: Agetyeng Travel and Tours, Creative Baguio City Council, Ester Castro Kimayong, Local Government Unit of Baguio City, Marshall Cruz of Baguio Old Market, Mirador Heritage and Eco Park, Sacya-an Stone Homestay-Maligcong, The Country Place Baguio.
Vogue Philippines: February 2025
₱595.00