Creative couples stake their claim on V-Day

Romain Rivierre AND Tanya Escaler-Rivierre Photographer and visual artist, 3 years

MANILA, Philippines - More than Valentine’s Day, Christmas is actually the season of choice for Tanya and Romain Rivierre. When the two met at a Carlos Celdran Christmas party three years ago, it was love at first sight. Though Romain was only meant to stay in Manila for three months and Tanya was about to leave for art school in Sydney, the two kept in touch and halfway through Tanya’s trip, Romain confessed his plans to move to the Philippines permanently. That same year, he took her to Paris and proposed, and after their wedding, Tanya found out she was expecting a honeymoon baby, Rock. Now in her second pregnancy, she looks forward to their very creative family.

On personal style: Known for her edgy style, Tanya now feels that she has somehow settled down. “My style is still edgy but now it’s becoming more classic, because I’m a mother now,” she says. On the other hand, Romain keeps to his stylish Parisian roots, but confesses that he put more effort into dressing up in France, citing the difference in weather. “I’m used to more seasons. In winter you can wear sophisticated outfits and layers upon layers, but in Manila, because of the weather, I’m now wearing more T-shirts,” he says.

On matching outfits: “Often, we’d dress up separately and it just happens to match. It’s because of me, though: I like matching — I do that also with our babies,” she says. “The way we dress, our lifestyle, our character — we just pretty much complement each other,” he adds.

On togetherness: “We like to travel, we also like film, and food! We like going out and trying different restaurants, or hanging out with friends. We’re both artists so we love checking out art — the last time we went to Paris we viewed several exhibits — Matisse, Modigliani, Warhol, even a Tim Burton exhibit,” says Tanya. “We’re together maybe 95 percent of the time,” reveals Romain, while the other five percent includes Carte Blanche, Romain’s gig at M Café every Friday.

On collaboration: “We play around with things, we like to collaborate. We also shoot together, thus our little art project, rr-magazine.blogspot.com, for artistic photography. This is to keep our creativity going,” says Romain.

On Valentine’s Day: Their most bizarre Valentine’s Day experience was when they drank two bottles of champagne, only to find out that Tanya was several months pregnant! But in general the two still appreciate the day, although they try not to make it any more special than other holidays. “We try to keep it going all-year round,” says Romain who reveals that this year they’ll be going to Hong Kong.

Jujiin Samonte and Paolo Castro Photographer and stylist, 6 years

The two met online, and having just come out of a relationship, they realized how much they had changed each other. To Paolo it meant finding freedom and liberation, finally finding a person he could express himself with freely. To Jujiin, it meant finding a moral compass — before they met, he reveals he lived a lifestyle of utmost craziness and vice: he had no work and wasn’t doing anything productive. He found his creative catalyst in Paolo: “I started working, getting more inspired,” he says.

On personal style: “It depends on the mood and where we’re going, sometimes we like dressing up even when we’re just going to the grocery, to challenge the eyes of people. There’s no deeper meaning, I just like what I’m wearing, so my feeling that I look good is already good for me,” says Jujiin. Paolo agrees wholeheartedly: “We wear what we want.”

On how their style evolved throughout their relationship: “Yes, I can’t explain it, but my aesthetic before was different, now I’m more free to express myself,” says Paolo. On the other hand, Jujiin’s style has more or less remained the same, mostly because he never had a distinctive look, preferring instead to change constantly.

On matching outfits: “Gusto ko yung terno-terno,” reveals Paolo, but as far as couple ensembles go, they have a Proudrace shirt that says “Akin si Jujiin, boypren ko, Paolo Castro.”

On togetherness: The two spend time obsessing about conspiracy theories, alien life and such, and while the two would love to travel more, they can’t do so freely because of “the kids” — their two dogs. The two dote on Disco, a five-year-old Pinoy beagle, and Strobelights, a three-year-old overweight dachshund.

On collaborations: “We work together on shoots a lot — he’ll style and I’ll shoot. He’s the manager since he’s better with project management,” says Jujiin. They’re now part of the team of Bekinights and are working on Ows Tokyo, a spoof of the cult talk show Oh Tokyo in the ‘90s. They recently joined the partylist Ladlad, and are planning on making a viral video to promote gay marriage. “It’s one of our goals as a couple — to elevate mass consciousness and encourage acceptance,” says Paolo.

On Valentine’s Day: The two have never really celebrated Valentine’s Day since it falls on Paolo’s birthday. “It’s always been my birthday, I was born at 11:45 (p.m.) on Feb. 14, so I never really experience the magic of the season,” says Paolo. As a treat though, this year they’re planning on getting new noses. Literally.

Nikki Luna and Mikee Carrion Installation artist and athlete/fashion model, 10 months

Nikki and Mikee met at a Razorback concert through common friends, and their conversation centered on tattoos. “She wanted to get a tattoo and I offered to bring her to the tatt shop right away,” reveals Mikee, who says he found her pretty and loved her smile. He stayed with her the entire time, and found himself calling, texting and asking her out. “I already knew from the start that I wanted to be with Nikki,” he adds.

On personal style: “We’re both into rock and I guess it shows that we’re more street style/rocker types and prefer a laid-back style when we dress up,” says Nikki.

On togetherness: “We like the same music, movies, we love the beach and going out of the country, spending time with the family, even cooking and shopping together,” says Mikee. “She’s really my best friend and my partner in crime! I love how Nikki is always caring about others, and is always willing to help someone.” She affirms this by saying how similar they are in many ways — from music to bands, food, and even traveling. “I love how Mikee is really thoughtful, extremely sweet, affectionate and patient. He makes sure I feel I deserve only the best,” she adds.

On collaborations: Nikki has enlisted the help of Mikee for her non-profit organization StartART project, this time collaborating on projects that involve football with grassroots and art. But as of this time, their most recent creative project is fixing up their house.

On Valentine’s Day: The two hold interesting views on Valentine’s Day: Mikee, feels that it doesn’t just take a day to make a woman feel special. “I make sure to treat Nikki like it’s Valentine’s Day every day,” he says, revealing how they go out of town to celebrate, possibly to the beach, or extend the celebration in Japan as Nikki is bound for prep work for Japan’s Aichi Triennale. On the other hand, Nikki feels strongly about the holiday: “I don’t really believe in occasions, especially those that are driven by consumerism and over-indulgence. I believe it would be better if we didn’t have to show our greatest affection and love on a specific day dictated by practice and pressure, in society and tradition,” she says. “But I’m lucky with Mikee — it’s been blissful every day.”

Photos by Cyrus Panganiban, Makeup by Sharon Soledad Malig and Hanna Pechon of Shu Uemura, Hair by Kristel Matias from Fashion Institute, of the Philippines and Dimple Callada