As MEGA Entertainment makes a bold shift in its look, we give you a rundown on how we are expanding media coverage to the next level

Entertainment is a word that can be defined by different people through different things. To some, it is all about celebrity stories. Others see it as a term that covers music, television, and film in one. But for MEGA, entertainment is more than just a concept—it’s a movement that takes storytelling to the next level. 

Over the years, we have seen the evolution of the term to cover a number of forms. With the media landscape and audience taste changing through the seasons, the way we share these stories must grow, too. With that, here is how MEGA Entertainment is getting bolder and better today. 

The logo

Following the logos of MEGA’s subsidiary brands, MEGA Entertainment is joining the others for a literal bold move. Senior Multimedia Artist Jones Palteng pointed out, “Breaking news shouldn’t whisper. It should be loud, legible, and bold. The new masthead is just that. It’s exciting and captures your attention more.” 

The logo also includes a meaningful take on what it means to be first on the news and even offer exclusives with stars and those who make them shine brighter. The exclamation point emphasizes this, as well as the thicker font style.

The content

Besides breaking news and celebrity features, we are also expanding our entertainment content in our website and social media. Following its core vision to elevate entertainment with stories, we are coming up with more content that goes beyond celebrity coverage. 

Joining our news updates and star exclusives, we are now introducing local and international news round ups and media reviews. At the end of the day, MEGA Entertainment is not just about establishing what entertainment is. We are also in the pursuit of weighing what it covers, debating its coverage, and how we can continue to change it for the better. 

Head on over to https://mega-onemega.com/mega-entertainment for more news and updates.

A year after its comeback, the MEGA Ball goes beyond fashion in celebrating the Filipino voice in its creative and liberated form

After welcoming the birth of a new era in celebrating independence and nationalism from the year before, MEGA sets this chapter in motion with the intersection of visual and aesthetic expression and sartorial artistry—the MEGA Ball: Art + Fashion. 

The occasion emphasized freedom beyond the confines of fashion, which is what MEGA, the country’s best fashion magazine, has always stood for. Breaking the boundaries of its DNA, this year put visual artists in the spotlight. As MEGA Ball’s first co-chair Sheila Romero pointed out, “For ages, art and fashion—two distinct yet very interconnected fields—have often overlapped in various ways. They both involve creativity, self-expression, and aesthetics. Both are used as a form of expression by the artist and the designer.”

As we look back on this year’s Independence Day, we give you the ways the 2023 MEGA Ball married the past and present through art and fashion. 

Inspired edifice

Following this year’s theme, The Peninsula Manila was a sure choice for the occasion that celebrates art and fashion. Besides it being a Brutalist Gabriel Formoso creation, the five-star hotel also houses a ceiling masterpiece called the Sunburst by National Artist Napoleon Abueva. Guests paraded their creative formal ensembles as they ascended the parted marble staircase. 

Transformed exhibition

The venue became a museum for one night as it housed the works of both established masters and emerging artists, making this a first in MEGA Ball history. At The Conservatory, pieces from Elmer Borlongan, Mark Justiniani, Rodel Tapaya, Manny Garibay, Daniel Dela Cruz, John Santos III, Geraldine Javier, and MEGA Icon Awardee Ramon Orlina reminded the guests of the deeper purpose of the event and art in general—to transform society by shedding light on the struggles of ordinary Filipinos. 

While works of Nice Buenaventura, Jinggoy Buensuceso, and Lilianna Manahan welcomed the guests into the Rigodon Ballroom, the pieces of Demi Padua, Marc Aran Reyes, Ayka Go, Winna Go, Yeo Kaa, and Chelsea Theodossis were showcased inside the venue for the attendees’ perusal. 

Honoring these artists whose works have gone beyond the country and the limits of art, they received tokens of appreciation from fellow creatives JEFRË and The Bear Cave Fluid Art Studio. 

True to its purpose, the 2023 MEGA Ball is a modern celebration of what it means to be a Filipino. Starting with the program, renowned host Teresa Herrera led the guests to the event of the evening. 

Emphasizing music’s impact on our culture as well, the Leading Ladies of Philippine Theatre, Manila Symphony Orchestra, and the cast of Ang Huling El Bimbo serenaded the guests throughout the occasion with classical and contemporary tunes. 

Meanwhile, the full course meal was a classic combination of the country’s flavors that every Filipino appreciates. It started with with a selection of Spanish bread, ube pandesal, kalihim to satiate the guests. Following suit was the pomelo and kesong puti prawn salad. Guests also had the option to choose between chicken binakol, beef ‘bistek style’ fillet, and alapaap fillet escabeche. Wrapping up the meal was a selection of mini pastries—ending the dinner with a sweet, fulfilling Filipino experience. 

Concluding the occasion the best way possible was the singing of the National Anthem to honor what we truly celebrate for the night—Filipino pride, and MEGA Editor-in-Chief Peewee Reyes-Isidro said it best in her opening speech: “Now [in] its 13th year, the MEGA Ball continues its purpose—to celebrate Independence Day and put the spotlight on Filipino talent even beyond fashion. We often talk about how talented Filipinos are. Do we really need another reminder? Absolutely.” 

Indeed, the 2023 MEGA Ball proves that Filipino art and fashion are just two of the facets where Filipino craftsmanship is immortalized, and this new era of purposeful collaboration is just getting started.

Head on over to https://mega-onemega.com/ for the latest fashion and beauty updates.

Vogue PH’s April issue highlights Filipino tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od and the craft of the highlands. Here is why it matters, especially today 

This April, Vogue Philippines takes beauty into its print and digital pages through stories of art on skin. Tattooing, to be more precise. While Apo Whang-Od, or Maria Oggay, is clearly the top choice for this issue, the reality of her identity and art form as the cover story came as a shock—albeit a good one at that—to both local and international readers. 

Breaking today’s dimension

As of writing, the cover has reached almost 300,000 likes on Instagram alone. On Facebook, it has garnered 200,000 likes and 73,000 shares. Known names in fashion and media like Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid, and Kourtney Kardashian have shared Vogue Philippines’ Instagram cover post. Even fashion-slash-lifestyle-and-culture collective Diet Prada dedicated a post on the bravery of the publication to feature such an important figure in the history and culture of the Philippines—and now, the whole world. 

Meanwhile, Filipino figures like Vogue PH’s December 2022 – January 2023 cover girl Anne Curtis expressed her delight on the fact that Apo Whang-Od, who is the oldest cover model of any Vogue title at 106 years old, has been featured on such a prestigious international publication. Bretman Rock, their first Mystery Dinner guest, also commented on both the magazine’s and Diet Prada’s posts. Collectively, the estimated number of 4,000 comments on Instagram are mostly messages of solidarity and gratitude for finally headlining a perhaps more relatable and perceivable visage of a Filipino.

Going beyond the pages

While the cover reads “Next of Skin,” emphasizing interpretations of beauty in which Apo Whang-Od’s story weaves into, hers is not merely about the outward definition of the concept. Just as the feature explained, the tattoos were symbols of their earthly life’s meaning, purpose, and devotion—ideals that they can bring after their last breath. 

Beyond mere appreciation of beauty and its display on the skin through tattoos, the oldest mambabatok’s story and her craft is more than just that. Although the communities in present time display colonial touches in architecture and means of living, Apo Whang-Od’s artistry still runs deep, long before the blood of the Westerners reached our seas. It is the story of not just her bloodline and race, but also of ours.

In the cover story, the tribe’s tradition is reiterated—Apo Whang-Od’s specialty is only to be passed on to blood-related generations in the future. Today, her grandnieces Grace Palicas and Elyang Wigan are already responsible for continuing their mentor’s legacy. There lies the real beauty of the Filipino family, wherein practices and stories are passed down to next in line—an honor and a duty to fulfill. 

But to those whose skins have had the privilege of being marked by Apo Whang-Od, and to those who have read this and Vogue Philippines’ stories on Kalinga’s rich tattoo culture, we now hold a certain responsibility, too—that is to understand our history and make the world know that while Filipino talent can reach different seas, there’s no place like home when we are in search of real, indelible beauty.

Photos from VOGUE PHILIPPINES
Photography ARTU NEPOMUCENO

Head on over to https://vogue.ph/magazine/apo-whang-od/ for the full Apo Whang-Od cover story.

The resident it-girl gives a deep dive into her identity as a true-blooded Filipina, as well as her impact on the changing plane of communication with fans

It is a given that Anne Curtis gets her rightful recognition as Vogue Philippines’ first celebrity cover star. Besides her long, withstanding career in show business, she has also been vocal about her love for all things media—with fashion topping the list. 

In the December 2022 – January 2023 issue of the publication, Anne gets a close-up shot of her rocking a cat-eye and bold lips, photographed by Mark Nicdao. Her feature is a discourse on how she shaped herself as a Filipino over the years, and how she sustains her impact in the digital space even now that she is a mother. 

Donning pieces from Filipino designers and brands like Joey Samson, HANSEN, Kelvin Morales, Strongvillage, and BAGASÁO, Anne embodied the true modern Filipina persona in the pages of Vogue Philippines. 

Anne Curtis has also made history with the pages of MEGA as she was the first to embark on the Making MEGA journey. She is also the reigning top celebrity with the most number of features in the magazine, as well as the highest-selling record for her covers.