Regine the chameleon
Regine Velasquez doesn’t stick with one style or look for too long.
Usually, she wears gowns onstage, but sometimes she opts for suits. It all depends on her mood, or “where I am in life.” As much as she loves experimenting with makeup, there are days when she just doesn’t feel like putting anything on. She will go out, appear on social media, or do interviews barefaced. Who cares?
And she doesn’t get emotionally attached to her hair. If it gets too hot and humid, she will chop off her long tresses—snip-snip—as easily as she can slide from her chest voice to a piercing head tone. No deep breaths needed.
“There’s no exact reason behind it. Sometimes, I just feel like it. Mabilis lang ako magsawa!” Velasquez said of her ever-changing looks in a recent interview with Lifestyle.
So perhaps it wasn’t so surprising that she had yet to make up her mind about her stagewear, weeks before her upcoming concert series, “Reset.” While she has some ideas, they might still change, she said. Again it will depend on her mood. She’s not worried, though. With renowned designer Michael Leyva on board, she knows she’s in good hands.
“People often see me in gowns, but we will see. We’re still finalizing the costumes, but Michael is creating them, so I’m excited. He was also my designer for my previous concert, ‘Regine Rocks.’ I look forward to collaborating with him, seeing his interpretations this time around,” Velasquez said.
But one thing’s for sure. Whatever she ends up wearing at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati on Feb. 14, Feb. 15, Feb. 20, and Feb. 21, they will have to be “bonggacious!” Fabulous, but not at the expense of comfort, she quickly added.
Shaped differently
“We have to take into account that my body is shaped differently now compared to how it was back in the day. And since I will be performing, I can’t wear clothes that will restrict my breathing and other parts of my body. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to sing comfortably. Those are some of the considerations when making costumes for a singer,” she pointed out.
Velasquez is also very much in touch with current fashion trends. But at 54, she feels compelled to dress in a way that’s “a little more age-appropriate.” It doesn’t have anything to do with being “conservative,” though—that ship long has sailed, she said, laughing. She couldn’t define exactly what it means to her, but being “age-appropriate” is more of a feeling, she surmised.
“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I guess ayoko lang magmukhang nagmumurang kamatis!” she said. “I think it’s just that our style changes through the years, and evolves with our personalities.”
While it’s her indomitably stratospheric vocals that first come to mind at the mention of Velasquez’s name, the memorable outfits she has worn in her almost 40-year career—some of which are now pieces of local pop history—aren’t too far behind.
Who can forget that image of Velasquez—hand on her head, mouth contorted in a snarl while wearing an Eddie Badeo metal corset—on the cover of “R2K” (1999), the highest-selling album by a female artist in the Philippines? Or maybe that yellow Rajo Laurel dress that billowed every which way as the singer belted out “On the Wings of Love” midair at the Big Dome the following year?
She’s also fond of the magenta gown that she wore atop The Peninsula Manila, where she gave a stunning performance of “Written in the Sand,” the country’s entry to the BBC millennium broadcast in 2000.
But if she were to choose a favorite—the one outfit she will never forget—she would have to go all the way back to 1990, to her first major concert, “Narito Ako,” at the Folk Arts Theater. For the finale, the then rising diva emerged onstage wearing a Louie Mamengo ball gown—the picture of which is still etched in her mind.
“It was beige, maybe dirty white. It looked almost like a wedding gown. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever worn. And to this day, I still find myself thinking about that outfit,” Velasquez said.
Slicked back
During that era, she wore her hair short and slicked back—one of her defining looks during the 1990s. And from then on, her hairstyle would go on different transformations: bobs, pixie cuts, voluminous waves, long and straight, long and crimped—she rocked them all.
“If I feel hot, I just cut my hair. If I get tired of it that way, I will put on extensions. That’s it. I don’t plan it or anything … I’m not so sentimental about it at all, I just like to change up my looks. Because I have noticed that every time I change my hair, I feel different,” she said, adding that she has observed how her hairstyle usually dictates her overall style.
“When I would cut my hair short, especially during my younger days, I tended to make my makeup bolder or more dramatic. I would do a smokey eye, perhaps. And in turn, that put me in a mood for suits or tight-fitting gowns,” she said.
And speaking of makeup, Velasquez does her own face, whether she’s going on a simple night out or doing a show. “It’s my face and I feel like I know it better than anyone. I know what looks good on me. And if I want to experiment, I would know how to approach it, because it’s my face,” said the singer, who learned to do makeup just by practicing on her face—and her sisters’.
“I would pay them P2!” recalled, laughing.
But when she’s off-duty, when she’s staying at home or going on a trip to the grocery, she would rather not put any makeup on. Well, maybe a little rouge or lipstick. But as long as she can help it, she goes about her day barefaced. “‘Di ako nahihiya. I mean, what can I do? That’s my face!” she said.
As a celebrity, she knows that being in public, or facing the cameras barefaced, is like putting out an open invitation to bashers. But all she can say is, “Welcome! Sometimes, I wonder where I get the confidence!” she said, laughing. “It makes me more susceptible to criticism, I know that. But I think I also want to appear vulnerable and say, ‘Eto ako.’”
Besides, she believes that as clichéd as it sounds, inner beauty reflects on the outside. “Makeup is good for enhancing what you already have. But if you’re a bad person, if you have an ugly heart, then no amount of makeup can mask that,” she said.
Intimate shows
For “Reset,” Velasquez will do two shows dedicated to her original songs (Feb. 14 and Feb. 21), and another two for her covers (Feb. 15 and Feb. 22).
The former will likely appeal to her diehard fans who want to see her perform deep cuts, or songs she has never performed live; the latter, meanwhile, is perhaps more attractive for general audiences who want to hear familiar love tunes this Valentine season. (Tickets are available at TicketWorld.)
Like going out without makeup, doing intimate shows in smaller venues makes every little detail or mistake more noticeable. But while this kind of set-up can highlight one’s flaws, it can also magnify the good, like the sense of connection between the artist and fans.
“I actually love doing shows like this because I love seeing people’s faces and their reactions. I can talk to them easily,” she said. “The audience also has a different mindset going in; their expectations are different. I can’t explain it, but there’s something fulfilling about it.”
And smaller concerts don’t necessarily mean less effort, she stressed. “You actually do the same amount of work, sometimes even more, because you do multiple nights. You still have to rehearse, study the material, and learn your blocking,” she said.
Velasquez is by all means an icon. But as it turns out, even icons can still get nervous before a concert, big or small. And when that happens, she just sits in front of a mirror backstage, picks up her makeup brush, and shuts out the noise around her.
“Doing my own makeup is also my way of destressing. That’s one of the big reasons I insist on doing it myself,” she said. “That short window of time before the show helps me concentrate and reset my mind before I go out onstage.”
