Mela Habijan is a trailblazer. From earning her crown as Miss Trans Global 2020 to being a steadfast lobbyist for LGTBQIA+ rights in the country, the 36-year-old has definitely walked the talk.
Growing up, Mela looked up to several women and has dreamed of rubbing elbows with them (of being "part of their world," so to speak). Today, she's gunning after a new dream: becoming a certified supermodel, under the tutelage of Coco Rocha no less.
Preview Exclusive: Why Mela Habijan Is Joining Coco Rocha's Modeling Camp
"Everything was unexpected. It came at a time [when] I was so insecure," she tells Preview. Back in May 2022, Mela experienced an episode of self-doubt, and loss any semblance of confidence. Things took a turn when she was scrolling through Instagram and found a promotional reel for Coco Rocha's Modeling Camp.
"Nung una, akala ko scam because you wouldn’t think na there’s a Coco Rocha model camp [where they would invite] people to attend," she narrated.
After verifying that the invite was, in fact, "legit," she perused the application process and submitted a four-sentence essay as to why she wanted to take part in the camp. "Why do you want to join?" was the question she had to address.
"I told her that I am usually insecure when I am in front of the camera. I don’t like [being] in front of the camera kasi feeling ko may something na nangyayari [that doesn’t make me feel] confident," Mela recalls. "It was also at a time where I was feeling insecure and I [wanted] to regain my confidence back. I [hoped] that it [will help] me appreciate my body, my identity, and my worth as a person."
Six hours later, she received the golden ticket. After getting a direct message from Coco herself, Mela was on her way to training under one of the world's most celebrated supermodels. "It came at a time when I needed it," she gushed.
For the content creator, getting christened as Coco's apprentice is "a good avenue for me to just simply lose everything—insecurities, negativities, [and] the past."
"I could regain [my] confidence. Now I’m thinking [that] maybe I can be a supermodel someday. At 36, an Asian, trans woman like me, a woman of color, a Filipino, could hopefully be on the runway [as] a supermodel. I’m claiming it somehow. It is a prayer that I’m having because possibilities are happening and possibilities could [happen] in the future as soon as I take this one."
Beyond fulfilling her own dreams of catwalk supremacy, Mela looks at the bigger picture and sees the impact her presence in the camp means. "It is representation. It is visibility that matters the most because a lot of LGBTQ+ people are insecure about their dreams," she says.
For the longest time, opportunities as grand as these were only granted to individuals of a certain body type or gender. "But now, we live in a democratized world," Mela states matter-of-factly. "Social media [and] the internet has allowed us to correspond with one another and it has dismantled boundaries."
The content creator just flew to New York City last April 6 to embark on the experience of a lifetime. While there have been other Filipinos to have taken part in Coco's boot-camp, Mela hopes that her run serves as an inspiration to her kababayan, especially her fellow queer folk.
"Trans people can be supermodels. Filipinos can be there. It’s a victory for all of us," she declares. "Anyone can begin regardless of age [or] gender. We can put ourselves out there. We can begin something new for ourselves. Who knows where the future [will bring] us? Basta [ang] importante, we keep on tapping whatever opportunities [are] presented before us."
The likes of Coco Rocha used to just be idols for Mela. She says that Coco is "an inspiration I’ve had since I was a kid. Looking from afar, there [was] this woman that would [inspire] you to say, 'Hopefully, I can be [on] a hot magazine cover, [on] a runway [representing] the biggest brands.'" With the months of training ahead her, these aspirations could soon become realities.
Every morning, Mela rises from her bed, takes a look at herself in the mirror, and enumerates the things she hopes to become. She goes: "Mela, you’re 36. You can be a supermodel. Mela, you’re trans, you can be Oprah. Mela, you’re a Filipino, you can be an international global brand." Hopefully, it happens." We have confidence it all will.
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