Accessories designer Rafé Totengco, who recently opened the Rafé New York boutique in Manila, his first venture here after breaking into the U.S. market 14 years ago, is so transparent that his personal and work activities are documented in high-definition photo and full-disclosure text in his personal blog, Can I Tell You?
What most people don't know is that while his electronic journal may contain his thoughts, the raw, unedited version is actually in a little notebook he carries with him, wherever he goes. He fills the pages with doodled designs and accumulates the debris of everyday life in its pockets. Rafé gives High Life a quick peek.
I hear you bring your work with you.
I bring my little notebook—it's kind of like a little sketchbook—with me. I kind of have 30 of them right now that I've amassed... That's how I kill time, when I'm waiting to leave, when I'm on the train, I start sketching, because it's like I can't not do anything. It's a nervous twitch; I've managed to make money out of it… If I don't have that notebook, I go crazy. I And I've got to have my pen. It's a security blanket.
Does it have to be a certain type of pen?
Absolutely... It's a fine-point [Micron] pen 1.0, and I have boxes of it. The notebook is Muji. I like it because it's got a little sleeve where you can put receipts, and business cards; you go to an amazing store or a restaurant, and just throw it in there. Before long, it becomes really thick because I amass addresses of places, so that when I go back... it's all in there.
You say that you take inspiration from everyday life, from a car, a painting... What is a fail-safe inspiration?
Movies. I just saw Lust, Caution by Ang Lee. I was blown away. I was like, 'Oh my God, I love Wong Chia Chi in her Qi Pao with the big clutches in the 1940s. That was like a dream. Recently, I was watching a rerun of Cary Grant's How to Catch a Thief and here was Grace Kelly, coming out of a hotel in Saint Tropez, wearing this huge white kaban [while wearing a] black and white outfit. It was just incredible.
You're looking for old glamour.
I think I'm an old soul. I do love elements. I love old things. I love vintage bags, anything that has a little history, something that's got a story... [that] someone wore this before [and] she loved it. There's something about that, because I have met so many of my customers who tell me their stories of their Rafé bags and what happened to them. It really is personal... I've met women who were never really into bags, and, all of a sudden, when they got their first Rafé bag, they got hooked.
Dangerous, huh?
It is dangerous. But listen, it's a better vice than most.
You a bag of yours to be a museum piece and a family heirloom?
Not so much a museum piece, that would be a little extreme, but I would certainly like it to be the kind of bag that you would really love and cherish. I've been to certain events where people come in with their bags from four years ago just to show me how much they love it, how much they've taken care of it, and how much it's still relevant in this day and age... I love trends; I think that's what propels the industry. But at the same time, I think I design a lot of pieces that would take you beyond the moment.
What is you favorite piece of all time?
That's like asking for your favorite child; that is not fair. I've had several, to be honest with you. Every season I pick one that I really, really love.
Such a slut.
I am. I'm a bag whore.
You've never regretted a design you made?
Of course, I've had my share of dogs. Nothing is perfect. Shit happens, right?
What is the place you go to so you can get away from all this, even though you love it?
I am a member of the YMCA in New York. On the Vanderbilt branch, they have a huge pool that is barely used. There are hardly any people there, especially when I go, because I go there late at night. It's the one place that I go to that I can hear myself. It's just me, the water, and my breathing, and I'm away. I don't do it enough, but every now and then, I have this urge to be with the water. I'm Piscean, so maybe that's why. I don't even count the laps, I just go in there and just kind of disappear. I come out of there with more ideas. It's refreshing; it's like my mind just stops. It's therapeutic.
Originally published in 2008 in BusinessWorld High Life.