ALTVRA MAGAZINE STAFF CHRIS LEE Editor In Chief
JEAR VELASQUEZ Creative Director
MOX SANTOS Art Director
CONTACT & SUBMISSION For interested collaborators, please send your inquiry at jear@altvramagazine.com or visit our facebook page ALTVRA MAGAZINE altvramagazine.com
Layout and Graphic Design by Jear Velasquez
THE MAIDEN ISSUE
EDITOR’S NOTE— p5 ENIGMA—p7 NEUTRAL GROUND—p14 DESIGNER’S PROFILE Rob Lim—p22 COVER Queen of Hearts— p23 DESIGNER’S PROFILE Kim Tiu-Laurel—p31 STRENGTH
—p33
DESIGNER’S PROFILE Mikee Sangco—p44 WUT—p45
Altvra Maiden Issue 3
EDITOR’S NOTE Beginnings are both beautiful and terrifying, eliciting both joyful excitement and nervous anxiety. As we release our maiden issue, we would like to invite you to see the different emotions and milestones we experienced putting this issue together. Enigma, our first ever concept for ojr first issue, shows how we took the first uncertain step into the unknown, the mystery, the darkness, and how as we took that step, we discovered beauty. Neutral Territory reflects how we were finalizing our plans and making everything black and white, our movements getting bolder and clearer. The Queen of Hearts is a representation of our passion, our love for fashion, for photography, for collaboration. The Queen is beautiful, yes, and it is in her beauty where her strength lies. We also venture out into Chinatown to feature how we delicately navigated and transitioned into doing an outdoor shoot, and what better way to represent this tiptoeing than with an editorial that showcases elegance and poise. This was also, as a team, our first ever outdoor shoot. And finally, a jumbled mess, ranging from anxiety, to fulfillment, to happiness, all swirling in an emotional cocktail. These feelings, as we launch our maiden issue, can be seen in Wut. Join us as we push fashion and phorography to the limits. We at Altvra aim to showcase the best of the best in glamour, fashion, and photography.
Chris Lee Editor in Chief
Altvra Maiden Issue 5
Black Serpentina Skirt by Rob Lim Accessory by Jbee Belediano
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOX SANTOS STYLED BY CHRIS LEE
Close your eyes, the darkness beckons. Shrouded in mystery, She calls. Step inside, lift the shroud and enter. Hair and Make up by Chiara Causaren Model Inna Gavrylenko
Leather Dress by Rob Lim Accessory by Jbee Belediano
Altvra Maiden Issue 8
Fully beaded cropped top and pencil skirt with Mesh panels both by Kim Tiu Laurel Accessory by Jbee Belediano
Cropped top with voluminous shoulders by Kim Tiu Laurel
Furr Jacket Stylist’s Own Bird’s Skull by Mox Santos Altvra Maiden Issue 11
Black Dress Stylist’s own
Altvra Maiden Issue 12
Leather Dress by Rob Lim
In all directions the compass rotates, North, south, east, and west, There in the center she waits, Waiting in Neutral Territory
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOX SANTOS STYLED BY CHRIS LEE Hair and Make up by Kristine Viudez Art Direction by Keith Magnaye Model Flora Lee Wardrobe Stylist’s own
Altvra Maiden Issue 16
DESIGNER’S PROFILE
ROB LIM As a child, Rob Lim already knew that he belonged in the world of fashion, as he would spend hours playing with his sister’s dolls (spefically their outfits) and draping his blankets on himself to create makeshift dresses. Forward to 2012, he began building the Rob Lim Label when he attended formal schooling at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines. Alongside design school, he also went into styling, studying how garments and fabrics worked, and gaining more knowledge about stitches and patterns. Armed with experience, knowledge, and his passion, he finally made clothes that were truly his; the first ever garment that he created was a maxi skirt. Rob Lim shares that he “felt that special pull, that spark, when I made my first dress. That experience was very fulfilling and made me feel that i was doing something right.” As an artist, he seeks inspiration from everything. “I use my eyes to see inspiration, those from the lavishly beautiful to those that ate considered disgustingly ugly.” His aesthetics lean towards minimalistic romantic, citing how his full collections show an army of Arianna Grande’s and Taylor Swift’s. Rob Lim is a free spirit, and he trusts that fate will take care of what’s in store, but he knows for a fact that all he has accomplished is just the beginning, and that he is ready for everything. Altvra Maiden Issue 22
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOX SANTOS STYLED BY CHRIS LEE “Off with his head! Off with his head,” Shouted the lovely queen in red. Her beauty magnificent, angrily she said, “Hear me, knaves, off with his head!”
HMUA by Raessieil Friend-Averia / Model Hershey Montecastro
Red cropped cape by Rob Lim and Red dress by Mikee Sangco Head dress accessory by Jbee Belediano
Red ball skirt by Jill Gepilano Head dress accessory by Jbee Belediano
Altvra Maiden Issue 25
Red cropped cape by Rob Lim and Red dress by Mikee Sangco Head dress accessory by Jbee Belediano
Red dress with embellishments by Mikee Sangco
Cropped top and maxi skirt with slits both by Rob Lim Head dress accessory by Jbee Belediano
Altvra Maiden Issue 28
Head dress accessory by Jbee Belediano
Scarlet dress with chiffon panels by Maps Pangan
DESIGNER’S PROFILE
KIM TIU-LAUREL Drawn to clothes that sparkle even when she was a child, Kim Tiu Laurel always knew that she was going to be in fashion. At the tender age of 5, she always got a thrill thinking and deciding what her dolls would be wearing. It was when her sister gave her a book on fashion when things began to click and fall into place. “I cried as soon i received that book, and from then on,I started to pursue my dream and enrolled at Fashion Institute of thePhilippines,” she recounts. When asked what inspires her, she shares that music is a huge source of inspiration; it is a big part of her creative and design process. Fans of the talented Kim Tiu Laurel will be excited to know that she will be releasing her formal wear and bridal collection soon.
Altvra Maiden Issue 31
Poised elegance honed to an edge, grace and beauty deadly. Enter at your own risk. HMUA Kristin Viudez Model Clair Cubar
S T Y L E D B Y C H R I S L E E
M O X S A N T O S & J E A R V E L A S Q U E Z
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y
Black cropped top with sheer panels by Kim Tiu Laurel Metallic gold skirt with red accent by Turx Vince Tolentino
Fuchsia ball skirt by Mikee Sangco
White cropped top and white vest both by Mikee Sangco
Emerald green dress by Jean Espeleta
Altvra Maiden Issue 38
Purple floral top and Chartreuse Maxi Skirt with slit both by Mikee Sangco
Altvra Maiden Issue 41
Altvra Maiden Issue 42
Fully beaded black trousers by Kim Tiu Laurel
DESIGNER’S PROFILE
MIKEE SANGCO A Fine Arts student from the Far Eastern University, Mikee Sangco stepped into the world of fashion upon winning the first design competition he had joined . The judges, all of whom were established designers, offered him internships, where he mastered skills such as cutting, patternmaking, sewing, and client management. He then began his solo career a year later, opening and establishing his own atelier. Mikee Sangco is heavily influenced by the philosophy of balance. His designs strike a balance between femininity and masculinity, sexy and conservative, modern and traditional, and at some point, “what women want and need, and to be different yet relatable.” He is also inspired to be different and break convention. He also wants to reach out to people with his designs and make them understand his point of view.” According to Mikee Sangco, “everything I do, I do out of gratitude. Gratitude to everybody- my peers, my family, my clients, and my mentors- who have helped me all throughout my career.”
Altvra Maiden Issue 44
BY APHY R G O PHOT ANTOS S MOX Y ED B STYL LEE S CHRI , , loud s u o r e Boist unbound. f o s color he sound t ren ausa Heed t’s meow. C a r ia a by Ch squez the C p u e Mak Jear Vela d n a r y Hai tion b oman c e r acpil i Art D Shane H George N l o Mode l thanks t apher r a i Spec hePhotog uT of Yo
Yellow crop top by Jean Espeleta
Green polka dot blazer by Mikee Sangco
Altvra Maiden Issue 47
Altvra Maiden Issue 48
Blazer polka dot blazer by Mikee Sangco Orange leggings by What Women Want
Altvra Maiden Issue 50