Life Begins at… 100. Vogue Philippines, the Philippine edition of Vogue magazine, has unveiled Apo Whang-Od as the face of its April issue, a decision that makes the 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines the oldest person to ever appeared on a Vogue cover.

Whang-Od – also known as Maria Oggay – has been perfecting the art of tattooing since she was a teenager, learning under the guidance of her father. Living in the mountainous village of Buscalan, about 15 hours north of Manila in the province of Kalinga, she is considered the country’s oldest mambabatok — the traditional tattoo of Kalinga.

The tattoos Whang-Od creates, for which she uses only a bamboo stick, a thorn from a pomelo tree, water and charcoal, were once reserved for indigenous people Butbut warriors.

Today, tourists who come to the Philippines from all over the world seek out its intricate geometric designs and are a large part of its clientele.

“We felt it represented our ideals of what is beautiful in our Filipino culture. “We believe that the concept of beauty should evolve to include different faces and forms. What we hope to speak about is the beauty of humanity,” said Vogue Philippines Editor-in-Chief Bea Valdes.

Before the appearance of the beautiful and graceful Whang-Od on the cover of Vogue Philippines, the record for the oldest model on the cover of the magazine was held by the actress Judi Dench, who appeared on the cover of British Vogue in 2020, aged just… 85 years.