Shot at The Theatre at Solaire by the international photographer Nigel Barker, this is indeed an issue of epic proportions. As Tatler celebrates glamour this month, we pay tribute to one of the country's fashion greats, Salvacion Lim Higgins, and also take a walk with the pop classical group BLAKE in their dapper clothes by Hackett around the streets of London. Check out the second part of our fashion spread with the marvellous landscapes of Ilocos Norte on the background and the iconic images of rock stars, fashion legends, and actors by Holywood's most prominent photographer, David Bailey.

BEHIND THE SCENES

You'd know it was a big deal because more than a dozen security personnel surrounded Solaire’s ritzy theatre, the venue for the Glam Issue’s two-day cover shoot. Stylists, hair and make-up artists, photographers, camera men, set designers, and a whole bunch of production personnel from different teams darted back and forth across the stage, getting everything ready for the “dream photo shoot” of the star of the cover, Vicki Belo.

Celebrating Belo Medical Group’s 25th anniversary, Vicki gathered some of her leading endorsers to pose with her for this very special pictorial. Ruffa Gutierrez, Lucy Torres-Gomez, Derek Ramsay, Dingdong Dantes, Sarah Geronimo, Sarah Lahbati, Jessica Kienle, and Tim Yap were part of the first group, while Piolo Pascual, Iza Calzado, Isabelle Daza, Matteo Guidicelli, Enrique Gil, Liza Soberano, and Tom Rodriguez belonged to the second group. These are some of the brightest stars of today, but as soon as the photographer stepped out to meet each of them, they couldn’t help but get starstruck themselves. Why shouldn’t they? The one holding the camera was none other than international fashion photographer Nigel Barker, who was also in Manila to launch his latest book Models of Influence. They all whipped out their camera phones to take selfies with Barker and had their copies of his book signed between takes.

Vicki couldn’t be happier. “I woke up this morning and it hit me. My gosh, it is a dream come true, not only to be on the cover of Philippine Tatler, but also to be photographed by Nigel Barker, of all people,” she gushed. “He’s someone I’ve admired and watched on TV all these years and now he’s taking my pictures, so I thank Philippine Tatler, and of course Anton [San Diego, editor-in-chief ] for taking this off my bucket list.” Vicki, who wore a silver strapless dress by Cary Santiago, admits she was a little nervous doing the shoot as she’s never been very comfortable in front of the camera; but she still enjoyed the whole experience. “It also made me so happy that I got to share it with some of my favourite Belo babies,” she says.

Everything was grand and glamorous, from the beautiful gowns all created by Cary Santiago, to the vintage-Hollywood-themed set designed by Dindo Pangalangan and Che Katigbak of Adfix, to the elegant Bulgari jewellery worn by the ladies. A big team of hair and make-up artists, led by Patrick Rosas, were also on set, making sure every strand of hair was in place. Also part of the glam team were Juan Sarte and Liza Babaran who did the hair and make-up of Vicki and Sarah Geronimo, as well as Pong Niu of MAC who did Ruffa’s.

Capping off the fabulous photo shoot was a champagne toast, celebratory selfies, and of course, more book signings for Barker.

Photography by Nigel Barker with his first assistant, Tory Spraguer | Location: The Theatre at Solaire | Set Design by Dindo Pangalanan and Che Katigbak of Adfix | Gowns by Cary Santiago | Hair and Make-up Patrick Rosas, Juan Sarte, Liza Babaran, and Pong Niu of MAC | 

Grab a copy of the Philippine Tatler July 2015 issue from any leading newsstands and the city's best bookstores. Download it on your digital device via Zinio, Magzter, and PressReader.