Suraj Aku: In His Own Time, On His Own Terms

Rayana Eissa always circles back to her core belief: always leave room for more than one way to be. Nobody needs to be caged. “Pride is more than just an identity or a celebration. It’s embracing the grain of society and accepting who you really are and how you’re going to show up for yourself and the people around you.”

Jullian Culas’ lust for life shows us that love and attraction are borderless territories. It shouldn’t be an exclusive category but rather an expansive realm to express one’s story.

Blond and statuesque, Cassandra Lucas draws comparisons to Hunter Schafer and Anya Taylor-Joy. She’s that girl — an ethereal nymph with an edge. Confidence like this can’t be faked, but it can be forged. She says, “I will never tone myself down again. I'm here, full volume, full color. Gag it.”

Poised, articulate, and self-possessed, Taki Shimada is someone you don’t want to mess with. She commands a room without ever raising her voice. But don’t mistake her calm for submission because finding her center took a lifetime to build.

“I just knew,” says 18-year-old Renée Mai, a British-Filipino model, when asked how she came to terms with being pansexual. There was no conflict, no climax — just quiet awareness. What confirmed it? “I resonate with it the most because I don’t care about gender. It’s more about my connection with the person,” she says.

If jawlines can cut, Suraj Aku would be lethal. With a striking mix of Filipino, Spanish, and Indian features, Suraj leaps off the page, positioning him as one of the most memorable faces to emerge from Philippine contemporary fashion.