Carla Bruni in Zee Lifestyle

MANILA, Philippines - Last year’s Zee Lifestyle fashion issue featured Dubai-based Cebuano designer Furne One and was capped with a gala fashion show, a homecoming of sorts for the international designer.  This year, the second fashion issue under the helm of editor-at-large Melo Esguerra is just as exciting, encompasses fashion and style on an international scale, starting with the ultimate fashion diva on the cover, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as photographed by Terry Richardson in Rome wearing Bulgari. 

The model turned singer-songwriter and former first lady of France is known for her innate elegance and sophisticated style.  “I have always been fascinated by the life of this Italian heiress, who became a supermodel and one of Gianni Versace’s muses in the ’90s,” adds Melo. The cover story follows Carla Bruni-Sarkozy’s storied life from her dramatic family history, her many paramours and her romance with Nicolas Sarkozy while he was president of France, and her plans for the future.

On a local level, Cebu has a number of women who are also clearly making their mark in the fashion industry. One such woman is Miranda Konstantinidou who runs her thriving Konplott and eponymous brand from her office and workshop in Cebu. Lately, Miranda, who is Greek by birth and German in orientation, has been churning her own vivid digital print dresses and bold accessories at the Berlin Fashion Week to much acclaim.  Her latest collection is reported in the Zee pages.

Also in this issue is Zee’s Style News that chronicles the recent Menswear Fashion Week in Milan and Paris, and fashion spreads shot in Venice and France’ Burgundy region.  It also contains a line-up of museums with emphasis on fashion –– Museo Ferragamo and Gucci Museo, establishments that pay tribute to the history of the fashion houses and the personalities who built them, and the recently concluded exhibit in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit.  This year’s fashion issue attempts to give a global perspective, but at the same time has a deep understanding of the Philippine and Cebu fashion scene. 

Zee Lifestyle is a city-centric magazine based in Cebu and Davao.  It is available at most National Book Store, Fully Booked and Powerbooks outlets.  An online edition is now available through Google Play. For more information, check the website, www.zeelifestylecebu.com.