When Gratitude Becomes Chic
Even in this supposed season of giving, a seemingly innocuous activity such as Christmas shopping is bound to be a test of selflessness and goodwill among Bea Valdes’ legions of fans.
As her way of saying thank you to friends and supporters, the celebrated Filipino bag and accessories designer has come up with a capsule collection consisting of four intricately beaded bags and 16 statement necklaces exclusively for the Philippine market.
“I’ve been wanting to do this collection for Firma for the longest time,” says Valdes. “The problem was finding the time to do it because I wanted to come up with something special based on my signature pieces.”
Since her Philippine debut several fashion seasons ago, Valdes has been catering exclusively to an ever-growing foreign clientele. From four people, she now manages an army of 40 craftsmen (majority of them are women) in her office-cum-factory in Bicutan.
Her sister and business partner, Marga, is the company’s marketing manager, while their mom Pamela is the operations manager.
To further spice up the situation, Valdes gave birth four months ago to Bella, her daughter by boyfriend Archie Rodriguez. Whereas she used to devote her time to designing and supervising the production of her pieces, the first-time mom now has to personally attend to Bella as much as possible.
“Before it was more spontaneous,” she says of her design process. “Now I spend most of my evenings researching and working on my designs. I leave for the office in the morning and go home by 2 p.m. I now try to get everything done within that period of time.”
Although they’re nowhere to be found in the Philippines, her creations, which carry her name, now grace the shelves of such upscale stores as Barney’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Harvey Nicks. Apart from such hotels as the Dorchester and Wynn, the items are also carried by a number of upscale jewelry stores in Europe, Mauritius and even Kazakhstan.
Image from Bea Valdes.
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