Cover Photo: Arber Sefa for Mugler
Photo: Arber Sefa for Mugler
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Strutting down the runway for a house as big as Mugler is no easy feat, but this Filipina model made it seem so easy
It is perhaps an often-glossed-over nugget of fashion history that one of the iconic designer Thierry Mugler’s muses was a Filipina. Anna Bayle, deemed the first Asian supermodel, used to walk the designer’s shows in Paris and star in his global campaigns in the Eighties through the Nineties. After her retirement, no other Filipina model has strutted down the runway of Mugler since.
Until Lukresia.
The Cebu-born model, designer and artist walked Mugler’s fall 2023 ready-to-wear show. This also marked the brand’s return to the runway, now headed by its creative director Casey Cadwallader.
In an exclusive interview with Tatler, Lukresia shares how her childhood shaped her love for fashion, the difficulties she faced in her journey to the Mugler runway, and why celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community should go beyond Pride Month.
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Above Lukresia at Mugler FW 23 (Photo: Mugler)
Lukresia at Mugler FW 23 (Photo: Mugler)
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Her journey to the Mugler stage wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Lukresia shares, “It started in 2021 when Max, their casting director, reached out for me to participate in their spring/summer 2022 film. . .we immediately worked on getting a US Visa, but I didn’t make it on time for the shoot.”
This was followed by two more instances of the same scenario for shows in France and Spain, but the team at Mugler just couldn’t let her off the hook that easily: “I was starting to lose hope, but Max let me know of another one coming up which is Mugler’s return to the runway. On January 24 of this year, my agent called me at 7pm (Manila time), if I could make it to the 10pm flight to Paris. Believe [me] when I tell you that I packed for 10 minutes and zoomed my way to the airport.”
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And what ensued after, Lukresia can only describe as ‘magical’. She recounts, “Then it was a good night’s rest in a gorgeous hotel in Paris, off to the fitting after and then onto the runway.”
“I was itching to meet the rest of the team, but I figured they were incredibly busy and thought I’d wait,” she says. “I was in the middle of showing my walk in the hallways of their headquarters when Casey barged in out of nowhere and hugged me. Then came Haley [Wollens]. Their hugs helped me take the moment in and helped me realise I deserve everything that’s happening and where I am now.”
“I am far from home,” Lukresia says, “but I am at the Avenue de l’Opéra.”
Yet, Lukresia admits to being nervous having to walk alongside the modelling world’s all-time greats, such as Eva Herzigova, Shalom Harlow, Amber Valletta, Adut Akech, Anok Yai, Mariacarla Boscono, and Dominique Jackson. But in no way did this stop her. “The backstage mood was fierce but not the kind that scares or intimidates anyone off. There was no sense of competition. We knew what we were capable of showing and what needed to be served,” she says, “and so we did.”
The backyard fantasy of creating and strutting not only shaped me, it also saved me.
However, Lukresia’s interest in fashion can be traced back to her childhood. “Growing up I paid interest to what people were wearing. I was raised in the province, where there was so much resource and space to play around with,” she says.
Even as a child, Lukresia was naturally creative. In fact, she even made her paper dolls and, in no time, she became her own doll. She had to make do with whatever she had at that time, and in a way, it even honed her eye for design and skill for the craft. “I would rummage through whatever interesting thing I could find in my grandfather’s storage hut, I would drape rice sacks, cardboard, and torn curtains on me, and I then would walk around our backyard like I’m that girl from FashionTV.”
“My love for doing that never really stopped,” she exclaims. She eventually studied fashion design and went on to make her mark on the global runway, all thanks to her creative imagination as a kid. “The backyard fantasy of creating and strutting not only shaped me, it also saved me and it continues to do very much so.”
For Lukresia, talent is everywhere. “Creatives from around the world are increasingly getting more recognition. It makes me happy when designers not only book models from fashion capitals or capital cities but also fly in models from far-flung places.”
This Pride Month, she shares that while it is expected to see brands, companies, and institutions celebrating the community, she hopes the celebration goes beyond that. “What I would like to see is their commitment to LGBTQ+ visibility to continue even after pride month.”
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When Jio is not creating content for Tatler Philippines' social media channels or covering style-related stories, he's probably binge-watching David Attenborough-narrated documentaries or nursing his vintage shopping fixation. He plans on using fashion criticism as a force for good. Follow him @hijowho or send him an email at jio@tatlerphilippines.com.
