The Filipino Now

Describing the Filipino is no easy feat. We are over a hundred million strong, spread across 7,614 islands, speaking eight major languages and over a hundred dialects. We come in different shades and shapes—warm and golden-toned, fair-skinned and sharp-featured, with eyes that tell stories of centuries past.

Long before “Filipino” was even a word, there were already traces of us—a skull fragment, some jawbones, and teeth discovered in the Tabon Caves of Palawan. These ancient remains dating back 16,500 years tell a quiet but powerful truth: long before human histories were recorded, the Filipino was already around.

But in written history, time and again, the Filipino has been billed the conquered—never the conqueror—colonized, exploited, and often told we were not enough. From 300 years under Spanish rule to a devastating world war, we’ve absorbed wave after wave of outside influence. And somewhere along the way, many of us were taught to look up to outsiders, and to look down on ourselves.

Even today, we wrestle with those ghosts—whether in the form of powerful political families at home, or employers abroad holding sway over our futures.

But, now—in a time where the Filipino has become a global citizen, with 10 million living abroad; where the Filipino diaspora has shared our culture and traditions with the rest of the world; where the average Filipino spends about four hours a day on social media and earns the country the unofficial title of “social media capital of the world,” and underscores the virtual reach of the Filipino worldwide—perhaps it is time to turn the page.

The Filipino may come from a long history of being the conquered, but the Filipino now has found ways to move beyond the bounds of social, political, economic, and geographic constructs, to somehow escape the narrative of always being the underdog. The Filipino now is exploring uncharted territory, earning recognition worldwide in countless fields—beauty, fashion, entertainment, journalism, sports, science, business, food and beverage, art, and many, many more. The world no longer feels like such a big, scary place for someone from a little island nation in Southeast Asia, rather, it fits quite perfectly in the palm of the Filipino’s hand today.

In this maiden issue of Allure Philippines—itself a whole new book upon which to write—we write a new story. Our two cover stars are the perfect embodiment of the Filipino now—rooted in their heritage, but at the same time, breaking boundaries and redefining what it means to represent the Philippines on a global scale. They are beauty icons in the most modern and relevant sense—bold, fearless, and unapologetically themselves.

Photographer: Mark Nicdao

Heart Evangelista and Bretman Rock. One is an international style icon and a true muse of beauty, luxury, and art. The other is a social media powerhouse, a beauty disruptor and an undeniable force of nature. They first met in person in 2022, at an Alessandra Rich show during Paris Fashion Week. Someone had been sitting in Bretman’s seat, and Heart took action. “She was my ate, and told the person to ‘Moooove,’” Bretman explains with flair. Heart, for her part, laughs and explains further, “I don’t know if it’s a Filipino thing, but we’re overly polite. He was like, ‘I’m sorry,’ and was trying to explain [the situation], but I knew it was his seat. I know how that feels.”

Their combined star power is on full display during our cover shoot, making the room hum with electricity. With an upbeat 90s R&B track setting the tone, photographer Mark Nicdao counts down each click of his camera aloud. Heart and Bretman, standing back to back, turn their heads in time to Nicdao’s counts, changing their angles for each shot. They move in unison, as if in a choreographed bop that they’ve rehearsed before. They are two stars in alignment—with Nicdao’s counts and with the pulse of the times.

Bretman is gay and a brown Southeast Asian immigrant. Heart represents a developing nation and barely stands over five feet tall. Their identities are rife with things immediately working against them on the global stage. And yet they have emerged as forces to be reckoned with, with an astonishing reach worldwide. Heart is a fixture at international fashion weeks, topping celebrity influencer lists, generating millions of dollars worth of media impact value and driving engagement for luxury brands through her social media posts. Bretman has been the first openly gay man to land on the cover of Playboy, and has collaborated with big names, such as Nike, Beyonce’s Cecred, MTV, Wet n Wild, Crocs, and countless others. Together, they have a combined following of 35.3 million on Instagram, 26 million on TikTok, and 11.71 million on YouTube. Together, they represent a new breed of Filipino icons—born in the Philippines, but made for the world.

Our time as conqueror has begun.

Photographer: Mark Nicdao

Photographer: Mark Nicdao. Fashion direction: Daryl Chang. Fashion assistant: Kurt Abonal. Beauty direction: Andrea Ang. Makeup: Memay Francisco (Heart Evangelista) and Booya (Bretman Rock). Hair: Mark Ghil Sayo (Heart Evangelista) and JA Feliciano (Bretman Rock). Fashion styling: Izabel Sim, assisted by Justine Riguer (Heart Evangelista) and Brian Meller (Bretman Rock).