How does one capture the essence of a beloved internet sensation? That was the mission Preview set out on when we shot #MelaiCantiveros for our January 2024 cover. Dressed in campy and colorful ensembles, "momshie" Mels proved that one is indeed never fully dressed without a smile. Press play on the video to see what went down during her shoot!
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:05 When choosing cover stars, especially for a digital publication like Preview,
00:10 I think it's important that we move with the culture.
00:13 The cover shoot for Melay was quite crazy for the team in a sense that
00:18 we had to mount everything in less than three days.
00:21 But everyone was set out to pull off the impossible because it was Melay,
00:24 and she really captures the cultural zeitgeist of this internet-obsessed generation.
00:29 She's funny, she's relevant, she's relatable, and fashion is supposed to be like that.
00:33 You're not supposed to take everything too seriously.
00:36 It's supposed to make you happy.
00:38 It's supposed to be enjoyed and celebrated.
00:40 So even the fashion direction, it was intentionally campy.
00:44 There were pieces from Fiorici, Simone Rocha,
00:47 and the oversized hats from Yana Calao in collaboration with Hamo.
00:52 The dress that made it to the cover was by a young designer,
00:55 Sheriko Serenas, and it was actually from her graduation collection.
00:59 Then we tied a white ribbon around her neck just to make it a little bit more exaggerated.
01:04 As what was mentioned, we only had a few days to mount this shoot.
01:08 Lucky for us, we were working with suppliers who are also
01:12 friends and super, super talented and super good vibes people.
01:16 So we had Sinanath Mav for photographers,
01:19 and as always with them, it's all about getting that perfect shot.
01:24 And we were able to experience that during the shoot as
01:27 Melay had a strict cut of time because she just came from a long day of shoot,
01:32 and then she had a flight to catch.
01:33 So we were just given a limited number of hours to shoot.
01:37 We also had Jake Galvez on makeup and Jeanne Idrisalan on hair.
01:42 And you can really see that they really made sure that Melay not only looked good,
01:47 that she also felt good during the shoot preps.
01:50 Aside from that, the shoot wouldn't have been complete without the
01:54 production design of Paul Hatayna.
01:57 Props to Paul because like what was mentioned,
02:00 it was super short on time to produce this shoot,
02:03 but they were able to provide the things that were necessary,
02:06 such as the panels and of course, the chicken.
02:10 So no animals were harmed during the production of this shoot.
02:13 We also were treated to such a delicious meal by Pacific Bay Eats.
02:18 It was such a good treat during the shoot while everyone was working hard.
02:22 We had a really good dinner on the side.
02:24 So that was a very nice touch.
02:26 But ultimately, it was Melay who really, really kept the energy up
02:32 and made sure that the shoot was as fun as it looked.
02:36 So we're really, really glad that she said yes to us
02:38 and that we were able to start the year with her.
02:40 The idea for the shoot is just doing mundane things in the most absurd ways.
02:46 It's meant to show how Melay can make the simplest things fun and entertaining.
02:51 So we still wanted to show her personality and make the shoot fun and light.
02:59 So the first layout, it's her exercising, but then she's imagining that she's outdoor.
03:05 That's why my leaves blowing, my newspaper.
03:09 And then the second layout, it's instead of getting a regular manicure,
03:13 she's literally dipping her nails in a paint pocket.
03:16 And then the third layout, the knitting layout, we wanted to make it very comedic.
03:22 We didn't really think about doing it the right way or showing that it's really knitting.
03:27 We just really wanted it to be funny.
03:31 Very her, but it's really her personality.
03:35 And then for the cover layout, it's a dining setting.
03:38 And then instead of a normal tablescape, there's a live chicken.
03:42 And then her bag is an egg from Simone Rocha.
03:47 Very playful, even the elements and the way Sinonat Mav framed and made her pose.
03:53 Overall, the shoot was very playtime.
03:56 We really had fun shooting with Melay, but we wanted it to still look preview.
04:01 So it's just a balance of both preview and Melay.
04:07 So Melay was an absolute joy to work with on set.
04:10 Fun fact, we actually started the shoot at around 7 p.m. already during dinner time
04:16 because she had taping the whole day and she also had to catch a flight to Jamsan
04:21 at around midnight.
04:23 So we did all the four layouts within the span of six hours.
04:27 And even though she came from a whole day of taping and it was already around dinner time,
04:32 she never complained at all.
04:33 And she was super fun to have on set.
04:37 She kept cracking jokes throughout the whole thing.
04:40 I specifically remember when we were shooting the cover layout,
04:44 the one with the yellow background and the chicken.
04:47 She kept on joking about the chicken and everyone on set was just laughing.
04:51 Even feel like the whole shoot was more than five hours, which she was just so fun to work with.
04:56 So for the fashion direction for the shoot, we wanted it to be fun and playful
05:02 to reflect Melay's colorful personality.
05:05 We wanted to play with a lot of experimental silhouettes, very large proportions.
05:10 And we also wanted to stick to a very colorful palette in primary colors.
05:16 So with the fun fashion direction in mind,
05:20 we decided to pull out from local designers like Shari Coserinas,
05:24 who she was wearing in the main cover layout.
05:27 And we also featured Donnalyn and Diana Calao and Camo.
05:31 We also mixed the creations from local designers with luxury brands like Acne Studios,
05:38 Jimmy Choo, Carolina Herrera, and Simone Raichel.
05:42 The fashion film that we did for Melay is very different from the other videos
05:48 that we did in the past cover shoots.
05:50 We wanted Melay to be her most authentic self.
05:53 In real life, she's funny, she's entertaining, she's real, just like how fashion should be.
05:59 Fashion doesn't always need to take itself too seriously.
06:02 It should be enjoyed and it should make you feel like you could express yourself.
06:06 Whether or not Ma'am Chimels is born with her natural humor is only an open-ended question, honestly.
06:13 I think when you see Melay on screen and you see her crazy antics and her viral moments online,
06:19 what you see is what you get.
06:21 And I think we really got to appreciate that she's just a down-to-earth, humble lady from Jensan.
06:28 And like I said in the cover story, you can take the girl out of Jensan,
06:31 but you can never take Jensan out of the girl.
06:33 And you really got to see that through the photos as well because she was just having fun.
06:37 And I think you see it in the photos that the outfits and the styling, even the set design,
06:41 they really reflected her vibrant personality.
06:43 They really reflected how she's just unabashedly herself and that she's not scared of being herself
06:50 even with her decades worth of experience in show business.
06:53 Proof to how Melay is just a naturally witty person is our interview for the cover story.
07:00 We had it during that awkward pocket of time between Christmas and New Year's.
07:05 It was just a phone call and on her end, it was kind of shaky because she was in Bukidan with her family.
07:11 But even if, I was still laughing, I was still hollering because her jokes were just right off her tongue.
07:19 It felt like I was just talking to a friend and telling her about her life and everything.
07:23 It felt very casual but also very genuine.
07:26 And I really was going to know her.
07:28 And I'm very proud to say that back then in PBB when I was 10 years old
07:32 and I was watching the Inday Kengkayo Jensan doing the daily challenges sa lab ng bae ni Kuya,
07:38 I was really proud that she was the one I was shooting for.
07:41 And she remains to be a big winner today for me and for many Filipinos.
07:45 I'm really proud and happy to be in this era of Filipino fashion,
07:49 in this era of social media where a Bisaya mother of two in her mid-30s is a preview cover girl.
07:57 I'm really proud to say that she's on our cover and that someone like her,
08:01 with her upbringing, her story, and her natural quirks and wit is someone represented on this platform.
08:09 And she's truly a first honor when it comes to being herself, to upholding her authenticity.
08:16 And the honor was all ours to really have her on our cover to kick off 2024.
08:20 [Music]
08:26 [Music]