MANILA, Philippines — What if the Philippines, like the rest of other colonized countries, had never been under foreign rule?
Pia Wurtzbach's feature on Vogue Italia tries to provide a glimpse of the possible looks of indigenous cultures had history not been marred with colonization.
In the August 25 feature, the Miss Universe 2015 titlist posed for several looks as styled by internationally-known Filipino designer and stylist Victor Mari C. Baguilat Jr., and as captured by ace photographer MJ Suayan.
"Indigenous Futurism" was the theme of the shoot held in Okada Manila as part of Vogue Italia's Autumn Winter 2021/2022 edition.
Riccardo Terzo wrote in the feature that the world is witnessing designers and artists from the Philippines that espouse the Indigenous Futurism movement as inspired by Afrofuturism popularized in the hit Marvel movie "Black Panther."
"What would the world be like if indigenous peoples had never been colonized? What if indigenous peoples were not always described as backward and uncivilized?" Terzo wrote in Italian.
The comparison is interesting as the hit 2018 superhero movie was indeed inspired by Ifugao. One of those behind the visual development of "Black Panther" was Anthony Francisco, a Filipino senior visual development illustrator at Marvel.
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Terzo added that the photographs capture the demands of the Indigenous Futurism movement in which indigenous perspectives are highly visible in the global fashion industry.