Hand me my leather: Rita Nazareno returns to the fold

Leaving a high-profile job as a TV producer for Fox and NBC in the United States to come home and manage an 85-year old family business is, well, monumental. Rita Nazareno, who had been living in Los Angeles and Houston for 24 years, was called back by her mother, who was about to retire and might have just closed shop had her daughter not taken over. “The transition has been interesting,” Rita says. “I have to keep on telling myself that I’m not on vacation anymore.” She does miss the broadcasting industry — the one-time music video director for Martin Nievera also holds an Emmy award for a spot she produced for Good Day LA — but she’s also very happy to be with S.C. Vizcarra, collaborating with her very creative family.

Rita’s grandmother, Segundina Cornejo Vizcarra, started the eponymous company in 1925, originally an atelier for fine, hand-embroidered piña that clothed Manila’s elite. It went through a period of retail expansion with several outlets abroad selling crafted objects from the Philippines, and has since evolved into a manufacturer of artisanal hand-woven accessories for export. The factory on Roxas Boulevard remains an insider favorite among Japanese shoppers, and their leather bags have recently been appearing on must-have lists in international fashion magazines.

Last week, Rita opened the S.C. Vizcarra Workshop Store, designed by her architect brother Anthony. Finally, people can get their hands on their products in Manila, where they are proudly made. It really is a family affair: Rita’s mother Vicky, who is the heart of the operation, designs a lot of the Segundina and S.C. Vizcarra Cruise Collection lines, while her stepdad Butch Sales, a mathematical genius with a single piece of leather, gets involved with the more intricate S.C. Vizcarra Limited Collection. Rita herself does the more contemporary Zacarias for S.C. Vizcarra line as well as the overall creative direction. Various siblings and relatives are also integral parts of the Vizcarra creative process. “It’s really quite fun,” Rita says. “The siblings have been all over the world at some point and it is the first time in more than 20 years that we are all back together in Manila. It’s like when we were kids again.”

The Vizcarra compound, however, is more than just a place where bags are produced. The weavers who live and work there are part of the family and the company, artisans who live and breathe what they weave. Some bags take up to three days to make, like the Kennedy, a large tote in natural leather, whose seamless body is stripped and woven from one large piece of leather. Many of the employees she has grown up with, and there was never any question about returning to the Philippines, giving back to the workers, and putting her own stamp.

Literally, that is. An image from an X-ray of Rita’s skull emblazons a couple of the bags. With her mohawk and layers of skull necklaces, Rita adds an avant-garde touch to traditionally hand-woven items with her Zacarias line, sculpting them in seemingly impossible shapes inspired by art and architecture. “I was intrigued in changing the function of a certain object or structure while keeping a certain part of its design,” she explains. How the design of say, a chaise lounge translates to a clutch bag.” The Bilbao emulates the rigid curves of Frank O. Gehry’s Guggenheim museum, while the foldable Porthole, which comes in a sumptuous recycled leather version, is appropriated from Isa Genzken’s 1986 cement sculpture Luke. The silvery Marsupial clutch, with a groove for your hand, is taken from a large Anish Kapoor installation. Not everything she envisions make it past the prototype stage, however. A large hamper-like bag based on a conceptual, boxy car design, for instance, did not “work,” she says, but is still one of her favorites. “I’ve always been fascinated with architecture, product design and contemporary art — combining my passions with what S.C. Vizcarra does well just seemed natural to me. It’s a very stimulating process.”

* * *

The S.C. Vizcarra compound is at 737 Roxas Boulevard, Manila. Store hours are Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.