In the bag

MANILA, Philippines - Dreams are the wings human beings use to soar. Passion is the fuel that sustains their flight. Excellence is harvested by those who keep a passion to dream and turn everything into a reality.

Amina Aranaz-Alunan, a celebrated bag designer, couples her talent with big dreams and even bigger passion for perfecting her craft. In 2005, after earning her expansive experience helping out in her family’s export and manufacturing business dealing with hand-woven bags, she established Aranaz, a fashion accessories label that celebrates femininity and leisure. Ever since then, excellence has become her trademark as she treads her path to success.  Indeed, with Amina as the creative director of Aranaz, which is still a family venture, success is surely in the bag.

“As a brand, Aranaz celebrates a life of leisure. However, its products are handmade with love and spirit. Because we put effort in creating our bags, our products are considered luxury pieces. They pique your curiosity. They make you stop for a while to appreciate them,” says Amina, who, with apologies to Helen of Troy, has a face that could launch a thousand ships. Her entrepreneurial savvy, on the other hand, could launch a thousand and one more exquisite bags.

It is perhaps that curiosity in Aranaz bags that led Queen Mathilde of Belgium to own not just one but three of Amina’s clutches. One is Gaia, a clutch made out of crushed bamboo. Another one is called Mira, a minaudiere that is made out of snakeskin with semi-precious stones. The third Aranaz acquisition of the queen is a gold-plated minaudiere called Ginto.

“We sell Aranaz in Belgium. We also sell in New York, Greece, Dubai, Kuwait, London, Singapore and Thailand,” says Amina. “In the international market, we are still a small presence but we are growing slowly. Somehow, we are spreading (our reach) in the international scene.

Amina takes pride that with her bags, she helps in promoting Filipino craftsmanship. Truth is, her family has always been big in introducing the Filipino artisans to the world with their handmade bags that they have been exporting since 1979, the year Amina was born.

“In fact, it was in our factory in Makati that I first learned the ropes of the business. I was six when I first started to help my mother in the bag business. I would help in packing the handmade bags in paper bags, ready for export to the US. Many times, I would lock or count the plastic loops used to hang the tag. I found it fun. Not menial at all. That’s where I first learned about dignity in labor,” says Amina, who also owns School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA) in Makati City.

Amina, whose name means “trusting,” has always put dignity in everything she does. Unsure of whether putting up an Aranaz in Rockwell in 2005, the first ever of her three stores in the city, would be a sound business move, she just trusted her instinct that everything “would be good.”

“That’s why I love Rockwell; it gave me my first break in the retail business. Somehow I felt Rockwell trusted that I would make it. And I carried on,” says Amina, adding that the first location of Aranaz at Rockwell was at the Independent Lifestyles area before finding a beautiful nook on the second floor of the Power Plant Mall.

Amina, who finished a special course in Accessories Design at the Istituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy after completing a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, says she is grateful that she gets to balance her career and family life. Married to the handsome Rafa Alunan, who is her dream man “because he has a kind heart,” Amina makes sure to bond with her husband and their three kids Lucas, eight; Helena, six; and Diego, five.

“It is my dream for my children to grow up with strong faith in God. I teach my kids the value of kindness. I teach them to always have pure intentions. Rafa and I want our children to grow up kindhearted individuals,” she says.

With the sincere life that she leads in dealing with her staff and their clients, the universe holds no reservation that Amina will get her prayers for her children fulfilled.

The desires of her heart — her dreams, passion and success — are, so to speak, already in the bag.

Photography by RITA MARIE • Creative direction and overall styling by Luis Espiritu Jr. • Makeup by RIA AQUINO for MAC Cosmetics • Hairstyling by AVRIL SEGUIN

• Associate styling by TARA SUBALDO • Shot on location at ARANAZ, POWER PLANT MALL