Photographed by Shekinah Carrillo.
Photographed by Shekinah Carrillo.
Creatives Fern Tan, Sam Lee, Jigs Mayuga, and Jeline Catt style their favored New Balance trainers, while reflecting on their individuality
Earlier this month, the Vogue Studios Launch Party celebrated creatives who continue to shape the identity of modern visual storytelling at Studio Red in Shooting Gallery, Makati.
As brand manager Marga Herbosa and editor Anz Hizon showcased previews of what’s to come for Vogue Philippines’ media channels, later on in the night, communities and advocates of creative expression alike were seen reveling in shared conversations and raised glasses in an atmosphere that invites guests to be unapologetically themselves.
Since 1906, New Balance shared that its value for individuality has evolved from those who have shown such through their athleticism, expanding its recognition to creatives in various media as well, from athletes Kawhi Leonard, Shohei Ohtani, and Coco Gauff to international artists Aminé, Storm Reid, and IU.
For the Vogue Studios Launch Party, however, musician Fern Tan, makeup artist Jigs Mayuga, film director Sam Lee, and content creator Jeline Catt were seen styling their favored New Balance trainers along the event’s discotheque atmosphere, sharing a moment with Vogue later in the evening, as they reflected on how they first embodied their individuality.
Fern Tan (Seen wearing the New Balance 1906)
“I came from a place where there were a lot of ‘chosen’ career paths for me to take,” says Tan, reflecting on how his passions for music became both the means and motivation for the 25-year-old to discover himself in and out of the craft. “Everybody always has an opinion when you try to become an artist. But I stuck to what I was good at, I grew confident of who I am and the art that I make, so just go do what you wanna do and it will all work itself out.”
Jigs Mayuga (Seen wearing the New Balance 9060)
From his growing catalogue of magazine covers and editorial projects to creating looks for various shows during New York Fashion Week 2017, Mayuga shares that despite having a longstanding career as a creative, it was his passion for fitness that led him to define his uniqueness through strength and balance. “As a queer creative for about 20 years, I first started tapping into my individuality when I became a competitive CrossFit athlete in 2016. Although I was a creative for a long time, it was in mixing both fields that my individuality came to form.”
Jeline Catt (Seen wearing the New Balance 574)
“When I was a little girl, I already knew how I wanted to dress myself and what fit best with my personality.” As a fashion and beauty creator, Catt also shares that her approach to exploring both interests remains rooted in such sentiment today, allowing her to then curate a feed that stays up to date with the zeitgeist, yet reflective of her inner self.
Sam Lee (Seen wearing the New Balance 1906)
“As a queer person, embodying your individuality is a continuous process that you need to do consistently throughout your life,” Lee explains. For the film director, developing a deeper understanding of themselves was often paralleled by the narratives they took to visualize, sharing how that allowed them to take in new lessons along the way. “It’s going through the world with the knowledge and confidence of saying, ‘Eh, I’m never going to be the same as everyone else, so I might as well be 100%, ultimately, myself.’
Visit the New Balance website, and follow New Balance on Facebook and Instagram to learn more.
