Bags that make local eco-fashion proud

MANILA, Philippines - After successful collaborations with designers Amina Aranaz and Rajo Laurel, social business enterprise Rags2Riches, or RIIR, unveils its latest bag collection and collaboration with internationally-acclaimed LA-based couture designer Oliver Tolentino. Known for promoting local fabrics and Filipino culture through his pieces, Tolentino, who has dressed up Hollywood celebrities such as Amber Riley, Kimora Lee Simmons, Vivica Fox and Macy Gray, calls his new collection “MaKULAY”. The name is a play on the words “ma” (mother) and “kulay” (color), and pays tribute to the remarkable mothers and women in Philippine history through the astounding splashes of color in Tolentino’s designs. 

Named for inspiring women in Philippine history such as Gabriela Silang, one of the first women to lead a revolt against the Spanish, and Corazon Aquino, the country’s first female president, and also Lydia Tolentino, the designer’s own mother, the bright fabric bags once again manifest the brand’s eco-ethical bent — being made of scraps and recycled fabric — as well as the enduring craftsmanship of women from the Payatas community. “My inspiration was joy and hope. I wanted the women making the bags, who may feel they live in a grey world, to work with beautiful, cheerful colors and see the possibilities of a vibrant future,” Tolentino said of the women who meticulously weave his designs.

Recently launched at a show at Greenbelt 5, the MaKULAY collection was complemented by newspaper dresses fashioned by innovative young designers Noelle Llave, Camille Co, Kaye Morales and Nino Angeles from the School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA).

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To know more about RIIR’s social statement and latest designer collections, log on to www.rags2riches.ph.