Woman of Style: The heart and craft of Rocio Olbes

MANILA, Philippines - Being blessed with stunning looks that verge on either wide-eyed innocence or

kittenish sexpot should make it easy to sell little evening bags — but sometimes, it also means you have more to prove. Beneath the smoke and mirrors, the glamour and gloss that mythologizes the fashion industry is a lot of hard and often painful work. It’s design rejections and manufacturing disputes, it’s a bad batch of products, it’s 10 hours of standing on heels at trade shows every day for a whole week. The stuff that comes out in Vogue, or appears in the clutches of the sartorially-lauded like Sienna Miller and the First Lady of Iceland, or displayed on the shelves of exclusive stores like shiny pieces of wood sculpture — that’s just the last part of it. But it is the reward.

Rocio Olbes has been creative director and designer of Rocio Bags for four years, and she turns 24 today, meaning she was only 20 when she plunged into the business of global fashion, with its ever-changing moods and temperamental markets, and its inherent commodification of art. “If I knew what I was getting into, I might not have done it. I was just not ready at all,” she says of the experience of setting up a small designer brand that has since grown rapidly and now sells in over 30 countries. “This has been my blood, sweat, tears, nightmare and dream.”

Despite the namesake, Olbes is adamant in pointing out that she is only a third of Rocio, which is a partnership between UK-based Hamish Menzies, the president, and Manila-based Tessa Nepomuceno, vice president of global operations. “They push me out there to be the name and face behind the label, but I would be nothing without them,” she asserts. “The number one thing I learned from Hamish is that you have to stay on top of things when it comes to quality control. I used to be like, ‘Leave me alone, don’t bother me.’ But in this industry you often only have one chance, so you have to get it right.”

The ideas of quality, craftsmanship and bringing fashion back to the arts are what defines the Rocio brand. Each piece, even if they’re of the same design, will have subtle differences, from the grain of the wood to the paint detail and the lighting, which are all done by hand. And being made from organic material, they’re treated for every type of climate. “They’re not the most practical bags in the world — I’ll be the first to admit that — but we don’t claim them to be,” she says. “In a world where everything is practical, it’s nice to have something that’s a little luxurious, that’s not so convenient for you.”

Luxury is being able to go out with the barest essentials (because your hot boyfriend can carry things like credit cards and your lipstick). Luxury is casually carrying an inconvenient container yet looking trés chic even in jeans and a T-shirt. Luxury is wielding a wooden clutch that will get scratched when dropped, but one that draws awareness to its resilience and solidity, its thingness, when held.

Rocio’s first big break came at a mid-level show in London called Pure, where they were faced with the challenges of presenting last and having the worst booth. “But people were coming to see them because they couldn’t believe it,” Olbes recalls. “Our idea was to use indigenous materials with a more Western, fashion-forward sensibility. The materials we have are so rich, and when you mix them with design, it just comes out. If I were to sum up the Rocio brand, I would say ‘unique elegance,’ definitely.”

Sometimes, unique will actually mean there is really only one piece. Olbes designed an elephant clutch that triggered “a moment of Zen” in my friend when he saw it on her at some loud, crowded party. This particular bag, carved into the shape of an elephant with an upwards trunk signifying good luck, was an aborted labor of love from Olbes, who loves animals and was convinced that this would sell like crazy. “My partner said, ‘Sorry kiddo. I don’t think it will sell.’ And it didn’t. It didn’t even get one order.” She learned then that a singular piece like that, beautiful as it was, does not work on a larger wholesale level. She ended up giving the elephant to her mom, who is both her ultimate inspiration and critic.

“You never stop learning,” Olbes has realized. “You always have to accept every single form of criticism, because if you believe you’ve gotten to the best where you can be, you’re not going to grow anymore.”

Her upcoming 18-piece collection for fall/winter 2010 will be markedly more mature — deep shades of plum and mahogany that venture into the exotic territory of animal skins like python, ostrich and lizard, infused with the rich, thick vibe of winter that works well with the wood. She will be showing in February and preparing for the non-glamorous aspects of Fashion Week, the grueling hours of marketing yourself in a foreign country where one can feel really exposed, especially at her still-young age. Olbes says she usually cries over her maleta every time she is about to leave the Philippines. “But I arrive there, and I change my mindset: ‘I’ve got to do this.”’

PHILIPPINE STAR: Which local designers do you admire?

ROCIO OLBES: Lulu TanGan, Rem Divino, Inno Sotto, Pitoy Moreno, Rajo Laurel, Rafe, and Tina Ocampo.

Who would you love to be seen carrying your bags?

I would looovvvvee to see Carla Bruni with one of my bags; her style is absolutely amazing. And of course, Madonna. The one and only Madonna !

Which one of your clutches has the most personal meaning for you?

I would have to say Grace because it was the first clutch for our label, and the Josephine simply because it marked a new look and status for Rocio.

What would you like to be doing 10 years from now?

I’m not sure but I hope to be very happy and with the people I love.

A little known fact about me is...

I am afraid of heights!

The least glamorous part of my job is...

The day-to-day actual work. It’s very hard and all the glam things happen for a second, when the majority of the time it is hard work.

I feel most proud when…

I make my family happy. And my boyfriend. They matter the most to me in life.

If your house was on fire and you could only take three things with you (to fit in one of your clutches) they would be...

My clutches can’t fit anything! (Laughs.)And if my house was on fire I wouldn’t care about three things in my clutch ... but I guess if I had to choose then it would be my cell phone.

Current non-fashion related passion:

Little Big Planet! It’s a game on PS3 which my brother and boyfriend got me hooked on. I love it. Everyone needs to play it.

Finally, what’s your New Year’s resolution?

Spend more time at home.

Rocio Bags are available at MIX, Greenbelt 5, and www. rociobags.com