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This is an excerpt from the MEGA November 2025 Fashion Feature
The paradox of individuality today is that in our pursuit of uniqueness, we’ve never been more alike. But perhaps authenticity doesn’t lie in isolation, but in recognition, and finding those who mirror our values and our way of seeing beauty. To belong to a tribe is not to lose oneself, but to be seen more clearly through others. Within these communities, identity becomes less about performance and more about connection: a collective expression of conviction, shaped by shared taste and defined by personal truths. At its heart, coremaxxing is less about conformity than communion: a fearless embrace of who we are, made stronger by those who see the world as we do.
THE CULTURE TRIBE: “CORE” AS BELONGING AND BECOMING
A collective of visionaries who live at the crossroads of creativity, consciousness, and culture, this group of social arbiters is bound by their passion for Philippine craft, identity, and heritage. Composed of former supermodel turned makeup artist Baba Parma; beauty and style correspondent Bianca Salonga; interior designer Cecil Ravelas; designer, photographer, and artist Jo Ann Bitagcol; fashion designer Jor-El Espina; creative director Luis Espiritu; and wellness guru Malou Araneta, these multi-hyphenates see coremaxxing as a collective yearning for authentic self expression, especially in a world that often feels fragmented.
THE BEAUTY TRIBE: THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE RADIANCE
For a long time, the beauty landscape has been about aspiration. But a new generation of creators is rewriting that story. For them, beauty is less about transformation and more about feeling seen, supported, and real. Iya Omaña, Jocelyn Yang, Bianca Ferro, Joize Frilles, and Jasmin Lao are all about building communities where confidence is shared, and remind us that beauty isn’t about chasing perfection but connection, play, and being true to ourselves.
THE DESIGNER AND MUSES TRIBE: EMPOWERED FEMININITY
Rosanna Ocampo’s world has always revolved around a tribe of women who embody her vision—confident, cosmopolitan, and constantly in motion. Her muses are entrepreneurs, creatives, and tastemakers who wear their femininity as vividly as they do her color: dermatologist Dr. Aivee Teo, beauty queen Katarina Rodriguez, entrepreneur and lifestyle host Xandra Rocha-Araneta, model Mikaela Lagdameo, and actress Sofia Andres, women whose multifaceted lives span beauty, wellness, motherhood, and media.Together, they mirror the essence of Ocampo’s latest outerwear collection: dynamic, self-assured, and unafraid of color or character.
Read more about Coremaxxing and the tribes of tastemakers in fashion, beauty, and culture MEGA’s November 2025 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photographed by SELA GONZALES (Culture Tribe), JHARWIN CASTAÑEDA (Beauty Tribe), and JAN MAYO (Designer and Muses Tribe). Creative Direction TROY NONATO. Art direction and production JONES PALTENG. Sittings editors AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON, STEF JUAN. Fashion Assistant KRISSIE TERUEL. Beauty writer MARA GO. Producer THESSMAR LECTURA.
