For this month's cover, Preview turns the spotlight onto Kim Chiu. Fun fact: It has actually been 18 years since the "Chinita Princess" made her television debut!
"We found it very fitting to pay tribute to [one of the] first Preview covers that she shot with us," says Preview Editor-in-Chief Marj Ramos-Clemente.
WATCH: The Making Of Kim Chiu's July 2024 Preview Cover
While it was a nod to Kim's editorial roots, the treatment for Kim's July 2024 cover was decidedly modern. "Of course, we didn't want to recreate the layouts down to a tee," Marj explains in this month's episode of The Making Of. "But we sort of wanted to just draw inspiration from those, and show how she has grown since then and how she has evolved but still managed to stay authentically true to herself."
For this, Creative Director Bacs Arcebal envisioned the overall mood and concept as larger than life, artful, and contemporary. They took inspiration from Asian culture, and injected Filipino-Chinese and Pinoy references in the deck—of which Rocket Sets would then actualize by constructing four distinct yet harmonious spaces, each with its own unique look and props.
This direction also guided the beauty looks and fashion choices. "We really not only wanted to highlight Kim Chiu's Fil-Chi heritage, but we also wanted to take a look back at some of the previous editorials that she did with Preview," Editorial Assistant for Beauty Isha Fojas shares. Kim's go-to makeup artist Jake Galvez kept her looking fresh despite of a long day prior, and hairstylist Carlo Roblico gamely executed the sculptural hairstyles. "We really wanted to experiment with playful styles that we haven't seen Kim do before," Isha adds.
"We focused on dainty and minimalist silhouettes with subtle floral accents," Editorial Assistant for Fashion Paulina Singh says of the fashion styling. For this, Kim wore pieces by local designers Jaggy Glarino, Maligaya Clothing, Marc Rancey, Neric Beltran, Renz Reyes, and Steph Verano, punctuated with Filipino artisan-made jewelry from Adam Pereyra and Suki Jewelry, as well as sandals from local brand Palengke.
With Kim's busy schedule, it meant that we had limited time to shoot. Knowing this, photographer Koji Arboleda was exacting his instructions to get the perfect shot.
It also helped that Kim was very much attuned with her body and could effortlessly contort to different poses. "Kim was really easy to work with," Bacs says. "She knows her body movements, super comfortable niya [when posing in front of the camera]."
The shoot ended ahead of schedule, with everyone on deck pulling their weight to make it happen. "It feels amazing and exciting after doing all the layouts. Na-excite ako on what it looks like on the final edit or the final layout na makikita ng mga tao," Kim says, noting how the shoot was "something different and very exciting to look at."
"Parang ngayon lang ako nakagawa ng ganitong shoot," she adds.
Produced and Styled by the Preview Team
Photographer: Koji Arboleda, assisted by Joey Alvero and JV Rabano
Creative Director: Bacs Arcebal
Editor-in-Chief: Marj Ramos-Clemente
Production: Reg Rodriguez
Fashion: Reg Rodriguez and Paulina Singh
Beauty Direction: Isha Fojas
Makeup: Jake Galvez
Hair: Carlo Roblico
Nails: Mimi Qiu Reyes
Set and Production Design: Rocketsets
Story: Katrina Maisie Cabral
Video Editing: Jana Jodloman
Videographers: Jino Del Mundo and Greeko Junio
Social Media: Jamie Lou Briones
Studio: Rocketsets
Special thanks to CUPI
Check out the Preview July 2024 Cover Story here.
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