National Style

If you were a fashion plate Jane, you would count yourself a devout bag-a-holic. Here’s to check: a) Italian leather pressing on your clutch becomes your typical love affair, b) sweet dreams are made of Hermes Birkin bags, or c) Vuitton, Prada, and Ferragamo are your arm companions. But you are just an average Jane, and you could hardly afford Italian leather, let alone the brands stamped on it. Besides, you’re not too French to carry an LV monogram, nor are you the American dream armed with a Kate Spade tote. You are Filipino, and your bags should be, too!

That could be the Aranaz siblings’ patriotic manifesto, as they wheel in the bags-of-your-dreams, made of 100% Filipino materials and labor. I’m sure, that got you thinking of kitschy bayongs and other banig specialties. Before you cast a "yuck, how cheap…" judgment, here’s something to make you reconsider your national allegiance. Their bags have shared shelves with huge international brands–from Coach, Kate Spade, and Nine West, to Anne Klein and DKNY. But the three’s company wouldn’t dwell on their elusive clients, at least not in this article. This time, they let the Filipino name speak for themselves.

Being born and raised among bags isn’t your typical family set-up. But Miguel, Amina and Rossana Aranaz have counted on the purse, tote, messenger, and hobo as kin. Each of them, as long as they fall under the same surname, have different bag-worthy roles in the biz.

Miguel, the eldest and only brother, started everything. "Actually, what happened was, my mom was afraid to go local back when I was in college. Then, I got all her overruns and sold them at the back of my car at school. And so, the guard would wonder why I had a lot of girl stuff in my trunk!" he shares. Because of that small spark, he went through college with a maximized dating schedule and pocket money. Now, he is the marketing mind of the company that employs 400 people, brings food on the plates of countless rural suppliers, and puts bags in females’ closets the world over–the perfect nationalistic job description. "We believe that being nationalistic lies in the ability to never forget that you’re Filipino in the things that you do. In our case, it’s always leaving a Filipino mark in every bag and accessory we create. It still has to be distinctly Filipino no matter how much the rest of the world influences it," he says with a stance that would make Rizal clap in his grave.

The next head doesn’t need much introduction. Armed with middle-child-syndrome (and model-worthy genes), Amina has been the fill in many billboards and tube breaks. A style mover, she works as an assistant stylist for a glossy. But what gets her hands full are clutching, slinging, and designing the Aranaz bags. "When my mom started, I wasn’t really into bags. But growing up with them is another thing. It influenced my taste and encouraged my kakikayan. I could have any bag made at will, and that, I guess developed my designing." Could she be any luckier? "It is really my passion. This is how I grew up, and this is where I find my niche. So, I really take it as my top priority," she shares. A constant search for inspiration takes up much of her time, not to count finalizing sketches for hard-to-please clients. But if Amina had her way, every design from her workshop would be "a big bag, definitely! I prefer roomy bags because I tend to put a lot of things in them." With that, it seems like she has the "form follows function" formula stitched, buckled, and zipped.

The youngest, Rosanna, plays the "seller." You can blame her charm for her suave businesswoman wit. But what counts in the family biz are her ventures stamped with the Aranaz name, from her own fashion inventions–the hair wrap, leather cellphone cases from the factory’s scrap leather, and her biggest and most ambitious attempt of turning a denim messenger bag into a classroom uniform. So maybe Fortune 500 could take a hint from her. "You have to be resourceful! Be creative in finding out ways to make money," she lets out.

It’s too cliché to say "you can never learn business in school," and perhaps the Aranaz brood could stand up and testify. As they say, "We think that we become patriotic by making Filipinos realize that they can actually compete with the rest of the world. We hope our products would not only be a source of pride, but also inspiration." And perhaps national style!