THEY WEREN?T exactly what you would call ?icon virgins,? but as captured by leading celebrity photographers, 26 of the country?s most photographed women and men revealed certain never-before-seen facets of themselves Monday night that made for riveting images.
Intermittent rains and an unexpected holiday weekend failed to dampen the spirits of Manila?s social set, who trooped to Ayala Museum in Makati to witness a marriage of style and substance as Inquirer Lifestyle and Nokia, as part of their ongoing lifestyle series, unveiled ?The Look of Style.?
The cocktail event marked the first anniversary of Look style magazine, which, with Inquirer Lifestyle, chose the 26 icons and collaborated with photographers, hair and makeup stylists. Hosted by Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Leica Carpo, VJ Alvin Alfonso and football player Phil Younghusband, it also celebrated a modern classic, Nokia 6700. Before the show, Primo performed.
Thrilled
The photo exhibit featured the images of Diether Ocampo, Piolo Pascual, Amina Aranaz-Alunan, Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez, Judy Ann Santos, Isabelle Daza, Angel Aquino, Leica Carpo, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Joanna Lhuillier, Jaja Chiongbian Rama, Mai Kaufman, Kat Florencio, Richie Ortega, Wynn Wynn Ong, Hindy Weber-Tantoco, Dina Arroyo Tantoco, Rosanna Ocampo, Jo Ann Bitagcol, Ruby Gan, Michelline Syjuco, Felicia Hung-Atienza, Astrud Crisologo, Kat Tantoco-Lobregat, Maritoni Rufino-Tordesillas, and Audrey Tan-Zubiri.
It was first and foremost a showcase of works by photographers Jun de Leon, Mark Nicdao, Sara Black, Jo Ann Bitagcol, Paolo Pineda, Cebu?s Dan Douglas Ong and Mike Jo.
?I?ve worked with Jun [de Leon], whom I consider a friend, many times before, but I haven?t had the chance to work with him recently,? said De Leon-Gonzalez, veteran model, jewelry designer and sometime actress. ?Of course, I was excited to work again with Jun and honored to be part of this project.?
De Leon-Gonzalez deals with photo shoots, she said, ?the way a model would.? Despite her years in the biz, she still gets thrilled and a bit scared of the entire process.
The photographer, for instance, wanted De Leon-Gonzalez to look ?sensuous yet a bit bratty,? the complete opposite of her bubbly self. In the end, she said in jest, she had to channel De Leon himself to bring out her bratty side.
De Leon?s reputation as a temperamental ?diva? behind the lens goes far and wide that the idea of posing for him for the first time daunted even someone as accomplished as Ruby Gan. Her fears, she realized later, were unfounded.
?It was really an honor for me to be shot by Jun,? said Gan, power lifter and president-COO of ShopManila Inc. ?At the same time, I was quite nervous, especially when he began firing off a series of commands to the creative team.?
In the end, she realized it was all simply De Leon?s way of speeding up the process. The bottom line is, she loves her picture, a tight shot of her smiling visage.
Good words
Artist and jewelry designer Michelline Syjuco, a relative tyro compared to the likes of De Leon-Gonzalez and Prieto-Valdes, only had good words for De Leon and the whole experience.
?No, he didn?t make me cry,? said Syjuco. ?On the contrary, he offered plenty of encouragement. Of all the pegs out there, I was given this one with no less than Kate Moss as my inspiration. I told Jun there was no way I could look as pretty and as relaxed as Kate. He reassured me and told me he?d take care of everything.?
Prieto-Valdes was asked by Nicdao to look pensive yet engaged. That would have required her to wipe the trademark smile off her face. To motivate his subject, the photographer asked her to think of a challenge she had yet to conquer.
?It just so happened that the shoot was a week away from Ironman,? said Prieto-Valdes. ?I had been training for eight grueling months for it, and when I heard the cue from Mark, I summoned every bit of positive energy in my body to make me feel as if I was set on finishing the race.?
Despite her experience and reputation as perhaps the country?s most styled fashion icon, Prieto-Valdes doesn?t claim to know every trick in the book. In fact, she always welcomes the input of stylists, especially new ones, to provide her ?fresh directions.?
?It?s not about pressure,? she said. ?I don?t feel any pressure. It has to do with my boredom level. I don?t want to feel bored doing the same things over and over again.?
Creative team
Hairstylists from L?Oreal Professionnel did the subjects? hair, while makeup artists from Maybelline New York did most of their faces. Celebrity makeup artists Juan Sarte, Peps Silvestre, Geoff Moran, Emer Buenaventura and Eric Maningat, hairstylist Jing Monis also worked on certain subjects.
Some of the country?s leading fashion designers such as Rajo Laurel, Ivar Aseron, Randy Ortiz, Patrice Diaz, Puey Quiñones, TC Alvarez, Rhett Eala and Joey Samson provided the clothes. Certain subjects, like Pascual, Ocampo, Tantoco-Lobregat and Webber-Tantoco, opted for off-the-rack pieces. Look fashion editor Kat Cruz did most of the styling.
More than just a celebrity-studded event, it was a personality-driven one, as subjects also included leading names in the world of design, jewelry, arts, business, dance and marketing. A seasoned model before she became a photographer, Bitagcol also found the time to pose for colleague Pineda.
?For me, the challenge isn?t about making my subjects look different,? said Bitagcol, who?s now more into photography than modeling. ?It has everything to do with gaining their trust. The tricky part is I don?t want them to appear as if they?re extensions of me as a model. I want to capture who they are as individuals, not to see myself in them.?
