Eco-ethic chic
by Maxine R. Ang
Would you pay thousands of pesos for a designer bag made of scrap cloth?
Created by Amina Aranaz-Alunan, RIIR by Aranaz is a dazzling collection of multi-colored, eco-ethical designer bags. Meticulously handcrafted, the bags are an exquisite marriage of materials such as mother-of-pearl, leather, straw, and scrap cloth.
This new line of Rag2Riches, Inc. isn’t just paying lip service to the inconvenient truth. It’s putting its money where its mouth is—or rather, where your bag is.
They’re not your typical luxury bags. Each is in itself a social statement of style. As Reese Fernandez, Executive Vice-President of Rags2Riches, Inc., says, “[the bags are] stylish, sustainable lifestyle symbols that are unique, elegant, and functional.”
A rags to riches story
Rags2Riches is currently one of the Philippines’ fastest growing and most promising social business enterprises. It began when young professionals, including some from the Ateneo de Manila University, visited Payatas at the behest of Bro. Xavier Alpasa, SJ.
The group found out that the Payatas mothers, who earned extra income by weaving foot rugs and rags out of scraps of cloth scavenged amidst the dump site, were being cheated by unscrupulous middlemen, leaving them with too little profit for their hard efforts.
Outraged, the group decided to develop a business framework for the Payatas women by helping them improve the quality of the rugs and teaching them the ropes of basic management. After a few months, the group would eventually decide to tap into the full potential of their business—by evolving the stylish rags into stylish bags.
Under the creative direction of Rajo Laurel and unwavering dedication of the professional volunteers, Rags2Riches would go on to become a multi-award winning for-profit corporation. It has since then become a byword among social business enterprises for empowering women in poor communities, and for its staunch commitment to creating eco-ethical products with both style and substance.
Working with Aranaz
As one of the cofounders of the School of Fashion and the Arts (SOFA Manila), Amina was initially asked for scholarships for the school for the Payatas mothers. Intrigued and charmed with the idea, Amina decided to go one step further. One of the country’s top bag designers, she agreed to design an exclusive spring-summer line for RIIR.
Amina says, “I’ve always wondered and thought about how my passion for design and creativity would be relevant to communities and other sectors outside fashion, and this was the answer!”
Not only are her designs exquisite, they are also proudly Filipino. “Amina shares the values of ‘upcycling,’ [the] process of creating products of higher value from scrap materials, and community empowerment,” says Reese.
“[Working with Amina] was very inspiring and encouraging. [She] and her mom, Becky Aranaz, were very excited to work with us and the women of Payatas. They were not just our designers. They became advocates for the Rags2Riches values as well,” Reese adds.
Together, Amina and the Rags2Riches team came up with the designs that would bring out the style and elegance of the eco-ethical bags through the beauty of Amina’s signature indigenous materials.
Turning rags to bags
According to Amina, the design process is harder than it looks.
In coming up with the high-end bags, they had to fully test the limits of manipulating the scraps and choose which hand-weaving techniques to use. “We had two major challenges. [The first was] how to uplift the scraps and recycled materials to give them a new face. [Basically,] how to disguise the evidence that they were meant to be rags,” says Amina.
The second was in teaching the mothers new techniques to help them cope better with the production and demand. This was done through their scholarships at SOFA, which equipped the Payatas mothers with invaluable training and designing insights.
The end result was a uniquely elegant three-piece line comprised of: Maria Rosa, Lambat and Aplaya. Maria Rosa utilized handmade roses using the fabric while Lambat used a hand-weaving technique called macramé to make the bags look like a fishnet. Lastly, Aplaya used a hand-twisting technique to create rope for roomy beach bags.
Amina confesses she has a favorite design: the Maria Rosa. “[Being] feminine and romantic, these pieces are truly consistent with my personal style.”
The launch
With barely a month to prepare, the team managed to pull off a spectacular launch for the bags on March 17 this year. In the Gallery of Greenbelt 5, the breathtaking 60’s-inspired cocktail event was designed by visual and interior designer, Dustin Reyes.
SOFA students with Dong Omaga-Diaz, Avel Bacudio, and Jojie Lloren designed newspaper dresses, which provided a beautiful backdrop to the bags. Among the guests, there were no happier and prouder faces to be found than those of the women of Payatas, who attended the event wearing their fuchsia pink RIIR by Aranaz shirts.
“The reaction was amazing and overwhelming! First of all, the event was well attended. There were around 300 attendees and a lot of them were advocates, leaders of different industries and businesses, designers, models, and celebrities. The products were also almost sold out during the night of the event and several reservations for the bags were also made,” says Reese.
After capturing the interest of icons and socialites who are willing to support the values of Rags2Riches, what’s next for the fashionable new darling of the eco-conscious Philippine society?
“We are looking on to a future of collaborating with more designers on a yearly basis, to build a pool of talents and products that are designed and created with eco-ethical values in mind,” Amina says.
Photos by Mark G. Tiu
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