Loco for Coco

When I first heard that Coco Rocha was coming to Manila, my fashion heart beamed and sped up with excitement. You may know Coco as one of the judges of the reality modeling-themed TV show The Face (alongside supermodels Karolina Kurkova and Naomi Campbell), but my fascination for the supermodel stemmed from growing up and seeing her in Steven Klein-lensed editorials for Vogue and other international glossies. When we were asked to shoot her, I quickly called up photographer BJ Pascual—this was another thing we could both tick off our bucket list. BJ and I grew up in the same era, an era when Coco first burst onto the scene—an amazing time when fashion was all about jumping in the air, dancing around, and producing extravagant shoots. Together, we reminisced over every detail of Coco’s modeling career—from her epic Irish jig at a Jean Paul Gaultier runway show, to her Dolce & Gabbana campaigns, her infamous Study of Pose book which showcased 1000 original poses, and learning most recently that she’s even designing her own clothing line Co+Co (now that’s a modern renaissance woman!). Come the day of the shoot, there was a moment of silence when she entered the studio. We knew we were in the presence of a young legend. As we prepared to shoot her, my expectation was that she would be good in front of the camera. I was wrong. She was absolutely extraordinary! Hitting every pose, frame after frame. She isn’t the clamored over Coco Rocha for no reason. I watched (with my jaw on the floor), and enjoyed every second of it.

The supermodel, as captured by the lens of local favorite BJ Pascual

QUOTABLE COCO QUOTES
We played a quick game of “This or That” with the supermodel. See what she chose and why...

 Leather of Lace
“Why do I have to choose? I can have both at the same time.”

Heels of Flats
“Now, a lot of flats!”

Day or Night
“Day all the way!”

New York or Paris
“NY, because that’s home for me!”

Dancing or Modeling
“You should dance while you’re posing”

This feature originally appeared in Metro Magazine August 2016 and has been repurposed for Metro.Style
Photographs BJ Pascual
Special thanks to Johnnie Walker, and EON Public Relations