For our anniversary issue, we gather more pixie dust that we can muster to turn fairy tales into reality.

Philippine Tatler gets better and bolder on its 14th year! The special four-cover anniversary issue features society's it ladies: KC Concepcion, Stephanie Gonzalez, Katrina Razon, and Solenn Heussaff on the cover. Be mesmerised with their beauty, together with some of the country's top celebrities and personalities, as they dress up as our most beloved fairy tale characters in the 26-page modern fantasy spread. It is indeed one of Tatler's best cover shoot of such grand opulence and scale and it would have been impossible without the collaboration of Rustan's.

Moreover, Tatler gives an exclusive peek on the Philippine gold collection of both the Central Bank and the Ayala Museum that will be exhibited in New York on September 10. Have a glimpse of Minda Feliciano-Lonsdale's manor in Kingstone Lisle Park of such magnificence and grandness, the fresh graduates of International School Manila gearing up for higher learning, as well as the wedding anniversary of Mellie and Louie Ablaza celebrated with such Medieval splendour. Flip through the pages and be updated with all the latest in fashion, food, wine, design, travel and more as this issue is the epitome of everything the magazine stands for—Life. Extraordinary.

BEHIND THE SCENES











Philippine Tatler has never been one to rest on its laurels. Since its conception in 2001, the magazine has been committed to putting out better issues, outdoing itself year after year. For 14 years, Tatler has been committed to presenting the inspiring and exceptional, which is why we chose to partner with Rustan’s, a brand committed to not only creating dreams, but also realising them. This issue is the epitome of everything the magazine stands for—Life. Extraordinary.

The preparation for the shoot took about two months, starting out with a meeting with Rustan’s Dina Tantoco, Jella Atienza, and the Tatler team at the Raffles Long Bar. We were still recovering from our Nigel Barker/Belo July issue and was not sure if we wanted to undertake another monumental / wrinkle-inducing shoot, but we said,

“Heck, why not? It’s the anniversary issue!” We had a series of firsts in this issue as we teamed up with talented set designer Jerome Lorico and photographer Milo Sogueco, who happens to be a film director as well. Their energies and talents were integral to give the photos a cinematic feel.

We were featuring no less than 19 prominent names from the business, social, and entertainment spheres; had pulled out over 100 items from Rustan’s, as well as the country’s top jewellers and designers (Ezra Santos’ gowns were flown in from Dubai); and had only two days to shoot. The stakes were high, and so was the tension, but when the first day of the shoot finally rolled in, the Tatlerteam was raring to go.

The first day had us setting up as early as 8 am. Each spread necessitated set changes that sometimes took up over an hour, much longer than the actual shoots themselves. This included not just the assembling of the set, but also managing the temperamental fog machines, which meant we had to shoot with no air conditioning. By the time we finished packing up at 8 pm, everyone was exhausted—but we hadn’t seen nothing yet. 

We pushed back the call time for the second day a little later—11 am—because of the metro-wide earthquake drill. By the time we got started, we were seasoned pros—which was fortunate, as the second day had the most challenging shoots. We took our featured personalities out of their comfort zones by dressing them in 10kg gowns (Coleen Garcia) and in nothing at all (John Spainhour); suspending them from the ceiling (Rocco Austria and Marco Lobregat); transporting them into a winter wonderland complete with ice and snow (Natalia Peña); and even submerging them in water (Solenn Heussaff).

This issue’s fashion/fantasy cover shoot is definitely one of, if not the, most ambitious that we have attempted to put together, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Photography by Milo Sogueco | Set Design by Jerome Lorico | Styling by Samantha Tidalgo | Gown of KC Concepcion by Rajo Laurel, Katrina Razon's by Cary Santiago, Stephanie Kienle-Gonzalez's by Michael Cinco, and Solenn Heussaff's by Mark Bumgarner

Philippine Tatler September 2015 issue is available in any leading newsstands and bookstores. Download it on your digital device via Magzter, Zinio, and PressReader.