Can I Tell You ... about my collaboration with Mestiza New York.

We all know that feeling you have when you meet someone and you just know you’re going to get along. That’s exactly how I felt when I met Alessandra years ago. We have a shared heritage and it’s something we are very proud of. We just get each other.

"I am so thrilled for the opportunity to collaborate with Rafe Totenco, whom I’ve long admired since my early days in New York, when I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. I first got to meet him back in 2016 at a Christmas party thrown by a mutual friend, and he doesn’t know this but I felt like I was meeting a huge celebrity! Ever since starting Mestiza I always knew I wanted to partner with him in some way, especially since we are both so closely tied to our Filipino heritage and always reference it in our collections. This collaboration has truly been a full circle moment for me, because getting the opportunity to partner with a fellow Filipino designer who paved the way is such an honor." - Alessandra Perez-Rubio

I admire how their clothing continuously reference Alessandra’s Filipino heritage akin to what I do when I design my handbags. Alessandra had approached me last year about doing a collaboration and it was an immediate yes for me. From start to finish, collaborating with them was so harmonious and stress-free. I’m thrilled that the clutches compliment their clothes perfectly.

“This was a match made in heaven, a tropical heaven.” - Rafe Totengco

Can I Tell You...about my Spring / Summer 2024 Collection featured in Vogue Philippines.

ARIEL Shell minaudière.

Rafé Totengco’s Latest Collection Has The Sentiments Of A Sweet Escape

written by Chelsea Sarabia for Vogue Philippines

For his Spring/Summer 2024 collection, bag designer Rafé Totengco presents glistening miniaudières swept over North Fork shores, celebrating femininity, vibrance, sunlight, and the season.

AYA Frame Clutch in apricot raffia crochet.

For a summer away from New York City, it might seem like there’s no better destination than the Hamptons. If it were up to Rafé Totengco, however, he’d tell you that being there would feel as if you hadn’t even left Manhattan. “I mean, it really is a fabulous location,” he says, but “I’m just not there.” On the weekends, the Rafé New York designer would rather be on the peninsula opposite the Hamptons, up in the North Fork. “I swear to you, your trip will feel so different if you just go away for two days. Just come out,” he urges, reenacting the convincing he had to do to get a few of his friends to come and visit. “Just come and see it for what it is, and you’ll see. You’ll come back.”

AYESHA Small Tote Crossbody in beige raffia crochet.

With the locale’s sprawling vineyards, lush gardens, and secluded beaches at every turn, it seems that taking the road less traveled would have you reap the most rewards. “You could kind of call it a bucolic scene or state of mind. I mean, every time I go there for the weekend, as soon as I cross this threshold, immediately, [my] stress level goes like whoosh.”

AYESHA Small Tote Crossbody in multi-color raffia crochet.

Totengco spends every weekend in the North Fork; it’s become something of a necessity for the designer. “Having lived in the city for so long, you need that escape. For me, it’s like, I need that balance,” he tells Vogue Philippines.“I mean, I used to love being in the city every weekend. But now that I’m able to go away, I look for it. I need it.” 

ROSIE Draped Clutch in ivory fine abaca.

He knew it would inspire his next collection as the vases in his home seemed to overflow with the fan shells he would collect on each of his visits. In such an idyllic setting, it was hard not to find beauty everywhere you went, says the designer. “I take my mom and my husband from Thursday night on. It really is our happy place. I kind of wanted to be able to share that happiness—of the location, of the moment, of the feeling.”

ELIZA Shoulder bag in silver with crystal rhinestones.

Totengco is the kind of designer who never stops designing, finding inspiration in just about anything. The collection is largely informed by the details you might ignore in passing: the North Fork’s pebbly beaches, fresh flowers from the local farmer’s market, the frequent bachelorette parties hosted in the vineyards. “You see these girls all dressed up, but [because] it’s so windy and it’s so natural,” he shares. “They’re all dressed, but it’s not, like, super fancy. There’s a casualness to it all.” 

BERNA Half Moon Clutch in fuchsia with an embroidered Bird of Paradise flower.

He approaches his clutches the same way; each piece in the collection is meticulous in its beadwork and craftsmanship, but still conveys something of a sense of ease through its design. “There’s a sequined clutch that I did—[there’s] no way that can be done by machine. When you see it, you see that each sequin is individually stitched into place,” he explains. “And yet, when you look at it [from afar], it’s not a very complicated bag. It’s a frame clutch, done. But it exudes so much femininity and color and vibrance… It catches the light. It reflects sunlight. [This bag] is a way to celebrate light and the season.” 

MEAGAN Minaudière in mint shell inlay.

That same effortlessness is evident in Totengco’s campaign images, starring model Hannah Locsin and photographed by Martin Romero. That shoot day, it would be the three of them in the designer’s car, driving around until they stumbled upon a scenic patch of land fitting for the collection—something not at all difficult to find in the area. “The whole day was just so relaxed,” Totengco recalls. “We shot a lot in one day, but it didn’t seem like it. It felt like we weren’t even rushing. Somehow, there was just this ease into the company.” 

BERNA Half Moon Clutch with a blue and white Chinoiserie embroidered motif.

More than the actual work, Totengco remembers going with Locsin and Romero to buy greens from the farmer’s market and sharing a salad under a comfortable midday sun. The day lacked the frenetic pace that creatives in fashion are so used to, but it didn’t make a difference in the designer’s desired results. “I was so happy when I saw the pictures because they’re exactly what I wanted,” he says. “Her hair’s blown in the wind, and she’s just there in the sun… I don’t know, [they’re] exactly how that day felt.”

BERNA Half Moon Clutch in lime green embroidered with lemons.

In thinking of this collection, Totengco had meditated on his moments of peace spent in nature, wishing the same for the Rafé New York woman “whether it’s just for the weekend, for the evening, [or] even if you’re stuck at home.” Everyone needs solace between all the noise. “I think, more than ever, everyone’s looking for an escape,” he says. “We’re all dreaming of getting away. So even if you can’t go somewhere like the North Fork, I think, just visually, we want to be transported.”

Can I Tell You...about Aya Abesamis.

Aya with her Aya frame clutch at Rockefeller Center.

Can I Tell You…about Aya Abesamis. We started following each other on Instagram last year but we recently finally met in person. I knew of Aya because her parents were fashion models and contemporaries of my sisters back in the Philippines in the 1980s. Her mother Desiree Verdadero was the 3rd runner up for Miss Universe back in 1984. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Aya joined the pageant scene and in 2019 was crowned the title of Binibing Pilipinas Grand International.

She’s been living in New York for almost two years and is represented by the legendary agency Ford Models. Aside from modeling, she also runs her own clothing brand AAYA, freelances for shoe designer Warren Edwards and paints in her free time.

The Aya Frame Clutch was inspired by Aya’s femininity, effervescence and self confidence. It features a covered frame closure with the clasps on the inside so the hardware is hidden from plain site and comes in an array of handworked sequins that will dazzle in the night.

Read our Q & A :

1. What is your idea of happiness?
Happiness is a feeling of enjoyment , positivity and a balance of well being.

2. What is your greatest extravagance?
My greatest extravagance would be fashion and the arts. I just love the creativity and inspiration that fashion and art can give you.

3. What is your current state of mind?
To always believe in myself, and have faith in my abilities. “You can achieve anything you put your mind and hard work to.”

4. Whose style do you most admire?
It’s a mix of role models; the Olsen Twins, Zendaya and Kendall Jenner.

Aya Abesamis wearing the Aya frame clutch during New York Fashion Week.

5. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I feel like I have a lot more to achieve in my life. But so far, I feel like I’m living my dream; to be doing the things I love like modeling, fashion, arts, and a lot more in the city of dreams a.k.a New York City.

6. What is your most treasured possession?
Probably the most treasured possession is a special analog watch that my mother handed down to me which was a gift from my dad. It’s definitely a special keepsake.

7. Who is your favorite writer? Ryan Holiday, Yung Pueblo and Rupi Kaur

8. Which living person do you most admire? My parents.

9. Where is your dream destination?
My dream destinations would be Iceland, Morocco, Switzerland and the anywhere in the Mediterranean.

10. What is your motto?
“Love the humble art”. - Marcus Aurelius. It’s appreciating the little things. The goal in life is to love what you do and to love your craft.

Aya wearing the Aya frame clutch.

Can I Tell You...about my Fall / Winter 2023 Collection.

Madeleine gold diamante’ clutch.

Rafé New York Takes Us To A Dazzling Reimagining Of Studio 54

By Chelsea Sarabia for Vogue Philippines

Rafe Totengco on his Fall / Winter 2023 Campaign and the sweet homecoming of Filipino creatives that went on behind the scenes.

In setting out to design any collection, Rafe Totengco prefers to work off a feeling.

With his brand Rafé New York, the designer has carved out a niche in the clutches and evening bags sect of fashion. He attributes its global acclaim to one sentiment: anyone can carry a Rafé bag. Over an illustrious two-decade-long career, he notes a sizeable shift in the landscape that mirrors this attitude, with trends that transcend any one type of person—so long as it fits their tastes.

Lila Top Handle in ruby satin embellished with rhinestones.

“With social media, we’ve become a very small world. Everyone sees everything instantaneously, and they also see what other people are wearing,” he says. “Ultimately, that’s also what I love about handbags: it’s a very democratic piece of fashion. You can be young, you can be old. It’s not size-specific, it’s not age-specific.” 

Aya Zebra sequined clutch.

For his Fall/Winter 2023 collection, Totengco doesn’t design with a particular muse in mind but a mood; he paints a picture of a radiant hour in a bar in Bushwick, tapping into the sparkling glamour and the freeing sense of style of eras past. 

The designer expands, “I’m hoping that with one of these bags from the next season, [wearers] get a sense of confidence, independence, and strength, and a kind of boldness [that says] ‘I want to stand out from the crowd. I don’t want to be like everybody else. I’m going to walk in and turn heads. Yes, I’m going to own the space.’”

Raya embellished with pearls.

Inspired by Studio 54 and Helmut Newton’s photographs of the Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking suit, Totengco wanted to shoot in a location that captured the vibrancy of New York City at night. It seemed nearly impossible to find within the city’s cluster of crowded streets and the time demanded of shooting a full-blown campaign; that was, until his team found the perfect spot: a Brooklyn bar with the makings of what could have been a stylish speakeasy from the 1920s. 

Aya platinum sequined clutch.

“The bar provided us with so many vignettes that I was super happy with because it kind of gave you the feeling that ‘She’s inside…somewhere,’” he muses. “You don’t necessarily see her friends, but it doesn’t matter. It’s almost like she’s there [just arriving]. There’s this anticipation of, like, ‘Something fun is about to happen.’ And you can just imagine the rest.” 

Styled in Marcel waves and ‘70s-reminiscent jumpsuits, Rafé’s femme fatale lounges over black leather booths, carrying an array of evening bags in malleable rhinestone mesh and sequins that spill over her fingertips.

Sarita diamante’ flap clutch in magenta.

“We have [them in] magenta, gold, and silver—you know, classic rhinestone colors, [and they’re] all individually done by hand in India,” he says of the collection. “They’re fun evening bags, party bags. When you see them, they evoke that sense of frivolity and ‘Ooh, look at this sparkly thing!’ I always believe a little sparkle never hurt anybody.”

For his campaign, Totengco worked with New York City-based Filipino creatives whom he shares he met through serendipitous encounters. In New York City, it seems, most Filipinos are distanced by only “two degrees of separation.”

Rafe behind the scenes.

He met photographer Selwyn Tungol after he had taken a picture of one of his bags during a Fashion Week years ago and the multi-disciplinary creative Lorenz Namalata at the recent opening of the Silverlens Galleries in Manhattan. Following what the designer calls a “trail of connectivity,” he finds that the bar Namalata scouted for him was Filipino co-owned, too. 

Behind the scenes from the shoot, Rafe taking videos.

“It was just funny. We had a whole crew of other people who were assisting who all came from Manila, all based here now, and it just became this thing. All of a sudden, we were talking in Tagalog in Sleepwalk, a bar in Bushwick, and we were like, oh my God, wait, where are we? What are we doing?” he laughs. “It’s also, in a way, representative of New York now. It really is a melting pot, and I love that—that a new generation of creatives is coming up.”

For Totengco, a predominantly Filipino crew was a refreshing departure from where he first started in the industry. He says, “It was kind of this moment of solidarity where it was like, ‘Well, I didn’t have this before.’ Without even realizing it, it’s happening, and, really, it’s a nice feeling. You feel at home. You feel like you’re a part of something.”

Rafe Totengco and the photo crew at Sleepwalk in Bushwick, Brooklyn.