ARANAZ NEWS!!!

Our new boutique at Greenbelt 5 has been shortlisted in the Best International Retailer category!!! The store was designed by Carlo Calma... check out the link! :)

Check out my little sis, Rosanna, and her friend Hanna's fashion blog!!!!

Our most recent wedding is of Anna Palabyab & Raymond Rufino. Anna was also a fellow Povedan and fellow ballet dancer. So sorry I missed the wedding :(

Here are some photos of the entourage bags and bridal bag that we made for them! Gowns were by Rajo Laurel!

This limited edition ARANAZ Eco-shopper is our effort to contribute to the worldwide campaign towards the elimination of plastic wastage.

This canvas shopping bag has genuine leather handles and an I'm a Natural Shopper wooden plaque. Sold at P750.00

P200 for every bag sold will be given to GREENPEACE Southeast Asia.

Available at ARANAZ, Power Plant Mall and Hush, Mall of Asia.

Check out this blog feature our ode to all natural living!!!

Get updates on my newest advocacy: FASHION EDUCATION at the SCHOOL OF FASHION & THE ARTS!!!

Yes, were opening with a bang!!!
We're offering an array of special workshops by industry professionals!!!

Other workshops are:
Fashion Illustration
Basic Patternmaking
Fashion Merchandising
Brand Imaging

For further inquiries and applications contact sofamanila@gmail.com

In the same issue of inquirer, readers got a little tip on the new project that I've been working on the last couple of months. read on......


From Milan to Manila
By Alex Vergara
Inquirer

SHE’S A STYLISH BAG Designer who’s striking enough to model her own creations, but Amina Aranaz-Alunan will be the first to tell people, especially potential designers, that running a business isn’t as glamorous as it seems.

“I’m all dressed up today because I’m meeting several people,” she says. “But you should see me while I rummage through materials at the factory. There’s nothing glamorous about it. On the contrary, the place where I work is quite hot and dusty.”

Whenever she goes to the factory, which is almost everyday, Aranaz-Alunan has to go back home, take a shower and change before she heads to another engagement. It was worse when she was pregnant with her first child.

“My sales suffered then,” she says. “But working directly with people who have been with the family for quite a number of years has sustained me. Their passion for work can be quite admirable and inspiring.”

Love for one’s work and the passion to sustain it (including the often-neglected aspect of running a business) will be among the many tenets Aranaz-Alunan and fellow Istituto Marangoni graduate Loralee Baron aim to impart to students as they open the School of Fashion and Art (for inquiries e-mail sofamanila@gmail.com) in the heart of Makati’s Central Business District next month.

The two women have been dreaming of putting up a fashion school with a “European approach applicable to the Asian market” ever since they got back from Italy four years ago.

“I’ve met people who want to study abroad,” says Aranaz-Alunan. “But most of them can’t afford it, while others don’t have the time to spend a year abroad. We really need a fashion school that offers affordable education based on international standards.”

Inspired by the curricula of the best fashion schools in the world, including, of course, the two women’s alma mater in Milan, the school will be offering several certificate courses alongside associate degree programs in fashion design & marketing.

They’re working in partnership with Lex Ledesma of the One School, and are now busy finalizing negotiations with teachers who are also industry practitioners.

“No doubt traveling enriches the mind, but studying abroad isn’t the only path to success,” says Aranaz-Alunan. “Our school makes fashion education accessible for would-be designers and merchandisers. In my time, there were no fashion schools to turn to, thus the need to go abroad. Now foreign fashion education is no longer a necessity but a bonus.”

Click this link for the article FASHION BY DESIGN by Alex Vergara. Which included interviews with Rhett Eala, Jojie Lloren and myself on our experiences on fashion education abroad.

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=83038

Yesterday, ARANAZ was featured in Phil Inquirer alongside the works of other Filipino talents such as Modi, Cary Santiago (whose work i loooovvvveeeee..droolll) , Silk Cocoon, & Arnel Papa...

PINOY STYLE
APPLES’ PICKINGS
By Apples Aberin Sadhwani
Inquirer

Photos by Jun de Leon
Styled by Millet Arzaga

TODAY, WE CHOOSE TO celebrate Filipino talent, craftsmanship and ingenuity. No special occasion, really. We’ve always had the strongest urge to share with you information on designers and brands that are uniquely Pinoy, and as such, never fail to make us proud.

We hope they spark that flame of Pinoy pride in you, too.

Tote for the day

“I always say I like to ‘de-ethnicize the ethnic,’” says bag designer Amina Aranaz-Alunan, whom we absolutely adore. “I like manipulating our indigenous materials to create surprisingly chic and modern fashion pieces.”

She’s been known to design breathtaking pieces such as oversized plastic totes combined with wooden and straw accents, and little coco disco bags that had Manila’s fashionistas lining up.

Says Amina, “I like being able to surprise my customers with the numerous usages of local materials, thus giving them a renewed appreciation for Filipino craftsmanship and handiwork.”

It’s no accident that this cum laude graduate of Master Accessories Design at the Istituto Marangoni is into the art of designing and crafting bags. “My mom, Becky, continues to be an exporter of women’s bags. So I grew up in the business. The bag factory became my playground and the venue that allowed me to explore my creative side.”

Currently, Amina is busy working on her holiday collections (inspired by Paul Poiret and geometrics), which will be available in Aranaz, her stand-alone boutique in Powerplant. And to share her knowledge and know-how, she will also be opening a school called School of Fashion & Arts (SOFA) in the last quarter of this year.

“Fashion education is something that I had always dreamt of doing. There is a rising yearning for fashion education out there, so I think now is the right time to open a school,” she says.

We were recently featured in Channel News Asia (Skycable Channel 79) in the tv show Privileged Lifestyle.

For those with nothing to do today, catch the replay this afternoon,
July 29 at 230pm and 6pm!!! :)

I just encountered another one of our brides, March Babaran. I never actually met her myself, but once I saw her wedding bag I remembered it! My friend, Nicole Hernandez, actually ordered this bag as a wedding gift to March. (It's a smaller and more intricate version of the bag I wore to the Piedra party.) She says it was the perfect accessory to her wedding dress! :)

One of me recent brides is quite unusual, Mrs. Cecile Isaac was finally going to tie the knot before God years after her civil wedding.

After seeing my own wedding bag in Metro Weddings at the last minute. She wanted a replica made for herself. She ordered her bridal bag all the way from the province. Of course, even if time was limited I happily obliged! She set a budget for it so I couldn't make the exact same piece (mine was encrusted with over 50 Swarovski crystals-for a peek of my bag check out my pic below w/ my dad). She also wanted her's slightly larger. So instead, I used silver rhinestones, glass beads and pearls. It came out beautiful just the same! She even requested me to autograph the inside lining of the purse hehe. In 2 weeks the bag was shipped to her. (lead time is usually 1 month) Check out her photo she looked absolutely elegant in her white terno! :)

I loved planning my own wedding from decor, food, and of course the outfits of my entourage and myself! I know how special that day is for every bride. So naturally, I'm delighted each time a bride comes to me for a bag to help make her as stylish as she can be for the big day! (Even if it means having to reproduce an original creation meant only for myself)