Telling the Filipino story, one shoe at a time

MANILA, Philippines -  If one isn’t brave enough to take risks, one has no business becoming an entrepreneur. To taste success, one must not be afraid to take chances.

Tal de Guzman knows these too well. Although she was happy being an assistant art director at an arts gallery, she knew in her heart she wanted to do something else. Tal was sure at one thing: “I realized that I wanted to have my own ‘art’ and not just sell other people’s creations.” What was not clear to her at the time was what to create. To arm herself with knowledge in both fashion and business, the Fine Arts, Major in Management graduate from Ateneo de Manila University took further studies: Fashion Design at the School of Fashion and the Arts, and Entrepreneurship at The One School.

De Guzman originally saw herself running a bag business. But as fate would have it, she got involved in the shoe business, offering customized artisan footwear that incorporates Filipino elements. It was a risky move on her part, as people were buying more and more items from China and it was killing the local shoe making industry. But Tal was more than ready to face this challenge, and she never looked back.

Risqué Designs, established in 2012, is a Filipino lifestyle brand known for the modernity, luxury, and meticulosity of its hand-crafted artisan products. Tal has made it her personal—and professional—project to transform traditional crafts into modern designs.

 “I enjoy experimenting with materials and processes, but I have focused on using locally woven fabrics mostly from Negros Occidental and hand carved wooden heels from Paete, Laguna,” De Guzman said. “When I was starting, I really got interested in Marikina and its lost glory in footwear making. Now, more people are having their shoes done again in Marikina. I knew that for Philippine-made shoes to be known again, I had to create designs that are different from what’s existing in the market. I decided then to mix carved wood made by artisans of Paete, Laguna. Paete is known for their furniture and santo carvings, but people didn’t know that the bakya actually used to be made there, too.”

De Guzman admitted it was very challenging in the beginning. “There were very few avenues to sell, unlike how it is now. Bazaars then were generalized, not like the curated events that are happening now. Online shopping was still not big then, and Instagram was not well known yet. To get the name of the brand out, I collaborated with different brands, companies, and personalities for media mileage. We got featured a lot by newspapers, magazines, and TV shows because of the unique designs. I also joined some competitions, which helped me as a designer and a businesswoman.”

The young entrepreneur also used technology to help her market her brand. “I was able to find my first inspirations from materials I’ve researched online. I also got to search some of my first suppliers on Google,” she said. When she was starting out, she maximized Google Search to look for what kinds of footwear products and services are already available. Today, Tal continues to search for color trends, new materials, new processes, places, inspirations, and basically everything connected to her shoe business.

She felt Risqué Designs was starting to gain momentum when she had to put up her first showroom in Katipunan, then eventually put up her own production facility. The launch of her pilot store in Glorietta sealed the brand’s place in the local shoe industry.

To aspiring entrepreneurs, de Guzman said, “Think of every challenge as a puzzle to be solved. You have to look for clues to help you solve them. None of your business problems will be solved by just sitting idly, you have to keep working towards a solution.”

Taking that risk has paid off for de Guzman. “I just really believed then that there’s a market for what we’re trying to do. I knew back then that it would be difficult, but it would pay off eventually since we’re one the first ones in fashion that was really advocating the use of local materials.”

De Guzman said she’s evolving both as a designer and as a businesswoman as Risqué Designs evolves. She still has many plans for the brand—including continuing to tell the Filipino story, one shoe at a time.