A Life Well-lived: Remembering Sari Yap and her Legacy
Three years after her passing, we look back at One Mega Group Founder Sari Yap’s vibrant life and the many lives she’s touched.
A visionary and a pioneer, One Mega Group (OMG) founder Sari Yap always had high hopes and big dreams. In fact, her Instagram bio encapsulates this so well, saying “Reality can be grander than our dreams! Inside us is [a] greatness and light, just waiting to shine through!” This desire for something big… something grand soon paved the way for the country’s first-ever fashion glossy: MEGA Magazine.
Fast forward to many years after. More titles have joined the roster: high society brand Lifestyle Asia, architecture and design brand BluPrint, parenting title Modern Parenting, and of course, fashion mogul MEGA—where it all began. But even so, Yap had bigger plans in mind—one set on the digital mainframe this time.
Thus the advent of OneMega.com—a website that promised a coming together of great minds and industry experts. “Sari was one of the visionaries for OneMega.com,” shares editor-in-chief Marga Tupaz. “She wanted to get a group of experts under one roof providing content firsthand.”
A name and face that has made a big impact in the media and publishing industry, Sari Yap and her legacy will forever live on, even 3 years after her passing. As we celebrate her birthday, we look at what some of the industry’s biggest and brightest have to say about her.
Her Life Story in Fashion and Media
A graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, Yap has always been a staunch supporter of Filipino fashion and design. “She wanted a magazine that would cater to Filipino women, to inspire them with fashion and style,” shares MEGA editor-in-chief Peewee Reyes-Isidro.
With great ideas in mind, she set out to make them work. In 1994, she launched the MEGA Young Designers Competition, which produced the country’s biggest names in fashion: Rajo Laurel, Ivarluski Aseron, and Patrice Ramos Diaz. Likewise, she spearheaded the annual MEGA Pinoy Pride Ball and MEGA Pinoy Pride Awards—prestigious events in Philippine fashion.
Broadening her horizons, Yap took her master’s in Navarre, Spain. And during her return, she built MEGA—the country’s first fashion magazine and brand. And while other glossies have folded or shifted to a purely digital mainframe in the wake of modernization and the pandemic, MEGA stood its ground as one of the remaining Filipino print magazines today.
“Sari believed in the power of creating a multiplatform product that is true to its DNA and, at the same time, adaptive to cultural shifts. That is why MEGA is stronger than ever. With her life and legacy, she was truly a force to be reckoned with,” Isidro reveals in an interview with Inquirer Lifestyle.
Valuable Life Lessons from a Mentor
Amid her many successes, Yap also faced challenges in her pursuit of excellence. From navigating the turbulent waves of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and even her sickness, she never looked back—choosing only to set her sights forward. What’s more, she used her time to connect with people, inspire them, and teach them valuable lessons.
“She had a genuine smile and the way she complimented my work made me feel up in the clouds,” shares former Lifestyle Asia Managing Editor Pipo Gonzales. “That was a sign of strength for me. Amidst the hardships she was experiencing with her health, she gave her time and effort to inspire us with purpose.”
Penning an entry to encapsulate her many teachings and lessons, he goes on to add that “Sari showed all of us that we can find our niche in the workplace, encouraging us to do well with whatever task assigned to us. Many of us owe our success to her words of wisdom and her belief in our talent. And for that, we wholeheartedly thank you, SVY, for giving us a place in a world you helped mold and grow.”
A visionary, a pioneer, and a woman of wisdom. In her pursuit of excellence, her passion shines through as she has touched many lives with her wisdom, her kind heart, and her personality. And even after her passing, her legacy lives on in the hearts of many.
Happy Birthday, Ms. Sari Yap!
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