Room for squares

MANILA, Philippines - Maco Custodio, he of the architectural shoe (sporting his own platform derbies with cutouts for this interview) is making bags again. This time they are not meant to simply match his statement footwear but are a separate, permanent addition. And he admits, “It’s partly a business decision.”

We see this model employed by luxury leather goods conglomerates, luring consumers to integrate a little something from their brand by way of trinkets like key chains and bag tags, and then come the “it” handbags before customers invest in shoes or apparel.

It makes sense on the production end. For Custodio’s custom-made trade, he spends a minimum of three weeks to nearly a month, fitting foot molds, swatching fabrics, getting approval from his client, going back and forth until a pair of shoes are done just right.

In the process, fabrics go to waste. “When clients order shoes and they want a certain swatch, I have to buy the entire hide. Sometimes, all I’m taking from the hide is material for a strap. It accumulated and I had to get rid of it,” he explains. But even then, he didn’t think of turning them into bags just yet.

“In this fast business, I had to think of ways to support [my craft],” he says, adding that ideally, shoes should last about two years on the shelves, not being churned out with every change of a fashion season.

Last year, he was commissioned to make 250 bag tags for a corporate giveaway which he sold for P980 a piece. He is a shoemaker by passion, but for most Filipino fashion designers, who run their businesses independently, he likens it to apparel designers who do company uniforms; it’s a necessary “evil” to help them keep doing what they love to do.

There’s also the challenge of making things exciting for the cobblers he collaborates with. “The ones I work with, their children aren’t interested in taking up the art. It’s as if this is the last generation of artisans,” he shares.

When he participated in the London Fashion Week International Fashion Showcase for his slides, slip-ons, and derbies, he realised exporting something as personalized as shoes (considering differences in international sizing systems and his meticulous bespoke process) requires a lot – of material, of commitment. If there was something that would introduce this new market to his brand, it would be a versatile yet recognizable bag.

And so he got to work. “I have this notion that to create something iconic, it shouldn’t be complicated in shape. That its shape can be drawn by hand in less than three seconds, like the pyramids in Egypt, the Burj al Arab, the Eiffel Tower,” he muses.

He drew two squares overlapping each other, no embellishments in its shape. He named it his Eve bag as an ode to the process, starting around 1 p.m. and finishing before dusk. The Eve bag was first released at Manila FAME late last month.

Essentially a saddle-stitched tote with rivets and a magnetic clasp to close, the Eve bag is traditional, almost intuitive in form, revealing Custodio’s Industrial Design beginnings. Slated for retail release later this year, it is currently made-to-order and can be custom-made into a variety of leathers and finishes. You can add a detachable sling and have your initials stamped on the bottom of the handle.

The square handle – edges taken from formal shoe outsoles which are cut in curves – defines Custodio’s new line of bags. It will be in envelope clutches he is still developing, and its bottom half is the same size as his eyewear cases and cardholders, only folded and stitched together ingeniously. The same is removable in his bucket bag called “Y,” which is an ergonomic answer to the classic design that has been back on trend.

The standard of craftsmanship is a given to Custodio, but in the Eve bag, he emphasizes the importance of having a signature look that is identifiable and distinct to you as a designer. “Your personality should always be reflected in your work,” he says.

He goes to the extent of using his countenance – a bespectacled head with a fedora and a beard, heat stamped onto leather – as his logo after repeatedly getting his MACO branding confused with a retail store bearing a similar name in Century Gothic. With wares poised for the international market, there should be no confusion now.