Accessories with an edge - and spikes, too

MANILA, Philippines - Astrud Crisologo knew she was onto something when people began approaching her in the club or flea market when she was in Paris to compliment her on her accessories.

“I was flattered,” Astrud says, “since Parisians are known to be quite reserved and conservative but très chic.”

Those complimentary French folks were remarking on her spike-tipped purse, a creation of Astrud’s.

“My bags and shoes are weapons,” she explains, “not only figuratively but literally. They can protect you from muggers in the subway even. They may look deadly but they are conversation starters. They’ve made people smile!”

Despite a lack of formal design training, Astrud has been creating head-turning accoutrements for over 10 years now, beginning with Casa Amarilla. Originally selling travel finds under the label from home and at bazaars, she began adding bags and suitcases of her creation — garnering plenty of buzz. Best known for utilizing kitschy vintage upholstery fabric — the florid kind your grandmother used to wear in the ’50s and ’60s — she added fabric sourced from countries like India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar to her repertoire. “I also used textiles from here, especially Ilocano Inabel.”

On a recent trip to London, Astrud enrolled at Central Saint Martins, taking up courses like digital printing on textiles and experimental jewelry. Her designs for this collection were initially meant for her portfolio for her school application — until she realized that school would take her away from her three children for far too long. “A year seemed too long,” she says. “Maybe when my youngest son goes to university — that’s in two years!”

Under her eponymous label, which might be named Armed and Dangerous (“I’m still deciding!” she says with a laugh), Astrud crafted purses and shoes in T’nalak fiber, resin, pony hair, and a variety of leathers for this collection. What’s most striking about the pieces is the smattering of resin spikes dotting the surface.

“(The look) is definitely not conservative but attainable, a mixture of Pinoy local materials with modern shapes. Graphic, sculptural but still earthy,” she says of her aesthetic. “I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from my travels, from antiques, from folk art, tribal art — both local and foreign.”

The collection revolves around a Pinoy tribal-urban jungle theme with a few punk elements (those neon prongs) thrown in.

“The collection is me,” she says. “Not as folksy but more contemporary, with more bite.”  

An esteemed art collector who’s been lauded for her personal style by local magazines — her collection at home includes Marina Cruz’s dress, Aro Soriano’s paru-parong bukid and Leeroy New’s fiberglass chopped head sculpture — Astrud has been accumulating thought-provoking pieces, including folk art, textiles and antiques her whole life, which serve as references for her design.

“Every collection will represent a stage of where I’m at or what inspires me at the moment,” Astrud says. “Locally grounded but looking outwards! It’s a mélange of materials and colors that I love, black and white with a primary or two. Very tactile, a lot of textures and shapes combined.”

Her ultimate goal? “I want to see my products here and overseas.”

It’s her desire to push herself forward — to make a name for herself in design — that prompted her to begin this endeavor in the first place.

“It’s wanting to leave something behind. An urge to create. To share a piece of myself with others,” she says.

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E-mail astrudac@gmail.com to order. Only a limited number of pieces for each style will be produced.