Fashion Extra: Accessories talk with Rafe Totengco

Bags and shoes are a girl’s best friends, and here at SodaBottle, we obsess about them every day. This is why we recently caught up with designer Rafe Totengco to pick his brain on his inspirations and influences for his accessories brand, Rafe New York.

The New York-based accessories designer is very adept at combining form and function. His bags and shoes always have intricate details, yet come in practical shapes. A bohemian meets the city vibe is pervasive in his collections, with sophisticated designs and unusual materials, like hand-woven fabric, steel and abalone, and snake-print leather.

Rafe recently launched his Ikat and Craftwork collections, working with groups from his native Philippines. Ikat is an endeavor with the T’boli, an ethnic tribe, using a hand-woven fabric called Tinalak. Craftwork on the other hand, is a collaboration with INVISIBLE – a socially responsible, eco-conscious program founded by artist and activist Ann Wizer. It features crochet work made with recycled plastic bags, done by women from impoverished areas. Both projects are so unique that each produced bags and shoes that were anything but ordinary.

Read on and see what Rafe had to say about his fabulous creations.

On the inspirations behind his brightly colored Spring/Summer 2010 collection:
For Spring/Summer 2010 I channeled the LA girl, reflecting her easy-breezy, casual bohemian sensibility in my collection. Embellished platform wedges and Capri sandals strike the right balance of comfort and style. These styles are great for both running to and from yoga or shopping on Robertson. Platform sandals and wood clogs are the perfect accessory for a night out at the hottest new nightclub or a Santigold concert. Cross-body bags, hobos, totes and satchels are a must for these on-the-go girls in studded matte snakeskin, riveted leather and washed lambskin.

I focused on global influences as well for Spring 2010 that are seen highlighted throughout the collection. Ikat fabric hand woven by women of the Tiboli tribes of the Philippines is encrusted with a colorful beading embellishment. A special goodwill project called Craftwork by Rafe was also introduced. In its first season, I collaborated with Ann Wizer’s Invisible to create a collection of handbags made of recovered plastic bags that are hand crocheted by impoverished women of the Philippines.

On what made him decide to do the Ikat and Craftwork collections:
The decision was based on design first and foremost; fortunately they could be produced in the Philippines. I worked with Maricris Floreindo-Brias who has worked with the T’boli tribe for years now and has really established herself as the go to person for Tinalak. I’ve always loved Ikat so when I found that she could produce them in vibrant colors I jumped at the chance to work with this material. Craftwork by Rafe really evolved from my introduction to artist Ann Wizer through Illac Angelo Diaz. I admired her vision and incorporating the craft of crochet into her art by using