Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2021 i MEGA

What hasn’t the pandemic wreaked havoc upon? As hope rises in some nations, others still roil in hell. The vaccines may be there, mean s going to heal everything. Not the destroyed relationships, the mental disasters; no, those are going to take longer—much, much longer. Motherhood, heaven bless her heart, has been terribly confusing during the pandemic. Pressed together in isolation, families compressed into a solid block, heavy and unyielding. In Feature Story, one mother shares the terrific anxiety that follows some mothers as they try to navigate life—theirs and their family’sin this pandemic maze. Meanwhile, in Relationship, the editors share how they’ve been coping with all the blocks placed in their path to achieving healthy, thriving romantic partnerships in a time of tumult and despair. The healing will take…

Mother’s Day is queen in the Philippines. It’s also the month when Miss Universe is crowned, a contest that has lost its luster in many other countries, but burns brighter than ever in ours. It is timely that we celebrate beauty and the beauty bestowed on a woman, and which she in turn shares—through her work, her wins, her physical form, her spirt, her mind, her children and her love—all the different facets of womanhood. This month is a celebration of beauty, as varied and as vivid as the colors of the rainbow—and perhaps as ephemeral. Regardless of the results this May, Rabiya Mateo will always be a queen. Soft spoken but outspoken, regal but relatable, Mateo is a woman of her time—which is now. See her in a whole…

This month, MEGA is all about staying true to its DNA. Since its inception, MEGA has always advocated for Filipino designers—giving them a platform to showcase not only their designs but more importantly, share their stories. To date, MEGA has been instrumental in not only supporting local designers but discovering young talents as well—some even went on to become prolific individuals who are recognized globally. That is why this issue is special to us because not only are we putting the spotlight on Filipino design, we are also supporting the individuals behind them. What makes it more meaningful is that this time we’ve rounded up three young women designers to headline this month’s digital covers. While fashion has taken a back seat during the pandemic, these three women soldiered on…

HOLY SWIM PH (@holyswimph) While we never know when our next jet-setting trip will be, it won’t hurt to lounge around the house in knit bikini sets by Holy Swim. Bare it all by trading your sheer cover-ups for their colorful crochet-kinis! RECLAMARE PH (@reclamare.ph ) Keeping it warm and cozy, Reclamare PH adds more color to your life with their pieces. Their pastel-colored crochet tubes, vests, and bandanas are all handmade with love. ILYANG ILYANG (@ilyang.ilyang) Now, for a little edge. From their bio itself, “hardcore handmade,” Ilyang Ilyang’s pieces are strikingly head-turners. Who knows? The cropped crochet vest might just be the next It-sweater in the coming months. MAISON GANTSILYO (@maison_gantsilyo.ph ) Dagupan-based brand Maison Gantsilyo has to be one…

“Nothing from nature is good or bad. Natural things are just are; the only good and bad things are people’s various choices in the face of what is.” - David Foster Wallace The pandemic has pushed me to spend an unprecedented time with my family. It’s both good and bad. As someone who’s worked all her life, as the oldest sister who has been trained to get sh*t done, as a middle child who conforms her feelings to those around her, as a geriatric member of the widely-despised Millennial (oh, our feelings!) generation, and now as a mother to two strong-willed, very young children… well, it’s been a lot. A few days ago, I saw my three-year-old playing by herself. She had it all: an unseen audience, imaginary friends and…

“Our work should equip the next generation of women to outdo us in every field, this is the legacy we’ll leave behind.”RUPI KAUR ROYAL HIGHNESS Fun fact: Cleopatra’s famous dramatic black liner also protected her eyes from the midday sun glaring off the desert sands. For a modern approach, capture the essence of regal femme fatale by using dark metallic shadows to create a subtle smoky eye BRONZE IN FIRST PLACE Skip the blush and go for dramatic depth by contouring with tones of bronzed gold for definition and shape. Top it off with a nude lip to balance out the look…

Though Patty Ang only launched her eponymous label in 2014, she already established herself as a design force, counting among her loyalists the likes of Heart Evangelista, KC Concepcion, and Andi Eigenmann, as well as international celebrities including Chrissy Teigen, Doja Cat, and influencers like Shea Marie. She employs an international PR team, holds sales in Paris before each collection is even released in the Philippines, and was in the process of expanding her stockists until the pandemic put a pin in it. Even stringent lockdown, however, couldn’t keep Ang from working and expanding. At the beginning of the pandemic, her atelier turned into a hub for PPE production, which her team then donated to hospitals. When the need urgent, on even — opened a - and-mortar for—her new loungewear…

When Rosenthal Tee decided to pursue fashion design, she knew failure wasn’t an option. “I had to be really ambitious for myself,” the designer tells me over Zoom. “I didn’t want to be the first person in my family to do anything in the arts and suck at it. May pagka A-type!” It paid off. Today, Tee is one of the most sought-after bridal designers in the Philippines. Not to mention, she’s already made waves internationally after two back-to-back NYFW showcases. It was actually a school project in college (she was a Management Economics major at Ateneo de Manila University) that spurred the desire to pursue a more creative track. “Serendipitously, my cousin was moving to London after graduation,” she says. “I didn’t know if I was going to be…

Holi or the Festival of Colors signals the return of spring from the dregs of winter. This Hindu tradition sees people coming together to smear and throw colored powders on each other as a celebration of the eternal and divine love of deities Radha and Krishna. It also celebrates the triumph of good over evil and is a day dedicated to forget, forgive and repair broken relationships. This issue may not be divine, but we are celebrating color, harmony and healing. Embracing uncertainty has been everyone’s routine for the most part of quarantine. It’s draining, yet we have no choice but to survive. Despite the rising cases and the dreadful anxiety, we do see slivers of light appearing at the end of the tunnel, and sometimes they are enough to…

When we talk about suits we don’t just talk about clothes, we talk about precision, patience and a powerful energy that can only come from a perfectly tailored suit. What was once clothing for businessmen has since evolved into a must-have for women. From strictly clean lines it has also progressed into different permeations; from cropped looks to hybrids that push the style forward. One of the young Asian minds who are experimenting with the suit is Dickson Lim. “I have this intense belief that my creations are miles ahead of the fashion curve. That only the people on top of the fashion game would appreciate them” Growingup Kuching, Malaysia fashion was strictly all about style that was easy and practical. But Lim had a different idea of fashion where…

Trends come and go. What was in yesterday is totally out of style the next, and with the rapid growth of the beauty industry, there’s no telling in what may be deemed “beautiful.” But for the past few years or so, the world has been obsessed with trademarking so-called “flaws.” There’s no escaping it, it’s in movies, songs, social media, and advertisements. You may not have noticed it, but it’s condensed into two little words: self-love. I’m both an amateur and a seasoned veteran when it comes to self-love. I mean how can I be spilling words of beauty advice onto paper daily and not believe them myself? But you see before Cara Delevingne walked the runway with her wildly bushy brows or Winnie Harlow inspiring the world with the…

With every thing that is happening in the world, it’s easy to have a bleak, muted view on life. Especially in a country where the COVID-19 response is lacking, we are left to fend for ourselves focusing on short term goals of survival. But where do we find hope in these dark times? We find it in each other. From private companies caring for their employees via testing and vaccine procurement, to the rise of community pantries, color is slowly coming back into the picture. In this issue we help you see that there is a brighter future for all of us. In the fashion industry, the true influencers are the designers. Without their pieces stylists and creative directors cannot create images and videos that will inspire an audience. So…

“I always knew I wanted to dress women,” Vania Romoff explains. “I come from a family of designers so it was very natural for me to gravitate toward fashion.” Despite being steeped in the craft, breaking into the industry wasn’t painless, though, from an outsider’s perspective, it may seem like the designer’s career skyrocketed from the get-go. “Nothing for me was overnight,” she says. “People see an established local brand but I started out as a student selling dresses in bazaars and on my Facebook and Multiply pages.” She says she even worked from her nephew’s dormitory with the “one sewing machine that I owned from school.” Now that she finally has her “dream studio” and a “wonderful team,” she says that looking back at her humble beginnings “makes everything…

FASHION BERSHKA, Glorietta 2, SM Megamall; CUL DE SAC, The Podium Mall; FENDI, Shangri-La Plaza Mall; GIVENCHY, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Greenbelt 4; GUCCI, Greenbelt 4, Shangri-La Plaza Mall; LOUIS VUITTON, Greenbelt 4, Solaire Resort and Casino; MAZEE PH, web <instagram.com/mazeeph>; PRADA, Greenbelt 4, Solaire Resort and Casino; STRADIVARIUS, Glorietta 2, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, SM Aura; TOPSHOP, Greenbelt 3, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Power Plant Mall; UNIVERS, East Tower One Rockwell; Adora Greenbelt 5; VERSACE, Solaire Resorts & Casino; ZARA, Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, SM Megamall DESIGNER CHRIS NICK, website <www.chris-nick.com>; CHYNNA MAMAWAL, website <www.chynnamamawal.com>; ROSBERT VILLAR, website <www.rosbertvillar.com>; SHENA ALSREE, instagram <instagram.com/shenaalsreestudio>; YEEN STUDIOS, instagram <Instagram.com/_y_e_e_n>; BEAUTY AVEDA, web <zalora.com.ph, freyja.com, hairmnl.com>; HUMAN NATURE, Commonwealth Flagship Store, SM Megamall, SM City North Edsa, Select…