Bea is in vogue!

Literally. Yes, the international fashion bible has declared it. A Bea Valdes is the must-have evening bag for the year. A definite fashion and PR coup for the Philippines to offset all the unsavory publicity the country has been getting of late. This talented young designer is being heralded as a fashion wunderkind who creates "spectacularly imaginative beaded bags in Manila using Philippine techniques." The people at Vogue were so impressed with what they called Bea’s "global groovy glamour" that they were the ones calling luxury retailers like Barneys and Saks to get hold of her bags for their stores. Definitely a shot in the arm for our image and something we can be proud of.

Bea had mentioned that there was going to be a shoot for an international magazine a few weeks after we launched her Dreamstyles collection at Firma Greenbelt, but said it was hush-hush. As modest as ever, she didn’t want to make a big deal about it and even when Vogue was going to press in New York, she called to tell us the good news but said it was all "kinda secret." We were ecstatic, of course, since this was the big leap we always wished for her and felt she so rightly deserved. We saw the evolution of her bags, which we knew from the beginning could not be kept within the confines of our shores. But Bea was still uneasy about all the attention, and especially attention of this magnitude.

Her very supportive mother, Pamela, said, "Bea is still shell-shocked!" Not that this young designer is new to media attention. All of the major fashion magazines in the country have made her the cover and have written about her endlessly – from what she wears to even the fragrance she uses. We always considered her one of Manila’s most beautiful and elegant women with the easiest, most unaffected style that always deserved a second look for detailing and unpredictable combinations. Coming back from London where she studied at the Inchbald School of Design and where she worked with furniture design and interiors, she was a fresh, welcome sight in blasé Manila.

Like who would wear an old piña mantel (artfully transformed by couture, of course) as a mini dress with towering spiky heels? We first saw Bea in person sitting at a banquette in Fidel Bistro. She was wearing a vintage Leonard which had not been seen since the ’70s (her grandmother’s) but it was reworked to fashionable proportions and worn with jeans. She was an absolute stunner with no obvious provenance or ancestry but was just a sight to behold, impeccably put together but in the most effortless manner and moving with the grace of a swan. We didn’t get to meet her then, as she seemed to have vanished into the night, and just remained a beautiful memory.

Bea started writing and reading her articles was pure joy, not just for the subjects she chose and wrote about intelligently, but also for the cultural references, her wit, and for the way she imaginatively assembled words.

Encounter three was a Bea bag worn by our friend, jewelry designer and perfumer, Gemma Suzara. The bag was like nothing we had ever seen before. First off, the shape was an exaggerated, elongated clutch which, under the hands of an inept designer or the wrong wearer, would look so outré. Secondly, it had so many details, from different kinds and colors of beading to an animal-print pattern, that any fashion astigmatic would simply declare "It’s all Monet to me!" But that’s what separates the true master from the neophyte craftsperson. How a multitude of materials, colors, textures and references can coexist marvelously in one harmonious, sublime piece that will smoothly go down the red carpet or any other carpet for that matter – Persian, Aubusson or abaca.

Encounter four was a text from Bea herself. She wanted to interview us for an article in Élan. We were finally going to meet this intriguing young lady that made the most adorable bags and wrote the most delightful articles. How often do you meet someone as gifted as that? We were so excited that upon meeting her, we were the ones asking more questions. She wasn’t too comfortable talking about herself and didn’t say much, which confirmed what we always thought: The number of words spoken by an artist about his work is usually inversely proportional to the talent the artist has. Her questions were brief but targeted. But she was looking around a lot and from what we learned from the staff, she would drop by again with her mother or her sisters to browse. The article finally came out a week later and, in true Bea fashion, it was a couture piece that was like no other written before – no formulas, catchy phrases and clichés – just pure, thoughtful, imaginative writing. The title was deceivingly simple: "Lessons from Things." But her references to the French practice of "tracing civilization’s progress from stuff to things" and Adam Gopnik’s book which explores the romantic journey of "Stuff" brought the seemingly mundane subject to another level. We almost could not recognize that she was writing about us! It was such an original piece that captured the spirit of the store. She has the talent to distill the essence of things so eloquently.

So you just can’t imagine our bliss when Bea started designing bags for Firma. In time for the holiday season, she created a line of fur bags called "Betise," coming up with the most wondrous shapes and the most unusual combinations. As a foil to cream fur, she added shimmering mother-of-pearl discs in champagne together with huge, brass hoops. Fine copper chains in swags gave a subtle, hard edge to sable. Wood handles, on the other hand, did their job to tame the wild beasts. Needless to say, these "furry friends" were a hit with holiday shoppers.

Encounter six was the definitive one that was the seed for her rise to international fame. "I have a couple of bags to show you," she texted one day. Busy with the CITEM show at the time, we had to postpone our appointment twice. But when we finally came to see the "loot," it was all like a heavenly apparition: Sitting on the coffee table and the sofa were the most divine pieces we had ever seen. There was a tiny pouch called the "Cockatoo" with tangerine vintage feathers, coyly concealing its magnificent, fully beaded skin and peeping through a crown of chandelier drops. Another one had layers of peacock-feather patterns, traced in crystals with the most awesome colors! And yet another, the most complex creature of all called "Zou Zou Mardigras," was rendered in jewel tones with a tail of crystals and over 50 different components just to render its unique gradation! We were just so dumbfounded by what we saw. They were like new, strange animals that you had to approach with caution but when you got to know them, you would simply be overwhelmed by their great beauty and would want them as pets for life. "A couple of bags?!! Bea, how could you?!!. These can very well sit in the best stores in Paris and New York!" "No!" Bea protested. "We have to take baby steps, little baby steps . . ."

We decided that these bags could not just be unceremoniously placed on the shelves. We had to launch them properly for all the world to see. So we did the Dreamstyle launch for all Manila to appreciate these works of art – Bea’s babies, as she calls them, each taking from one to two months of labor pains before final birthing. We chose the serene surroundings of Greenbelt’s Zen Garden where we positioned individually designed topiaries as pedestals for the objets d’art which seemed to come to life that evening as a jazz band played tunes true to the spirit of Josephine Baker who inspired the designer. As expected, her bags were a smashing success. For the first time in our retail history, women were fighting over bags that had multiple reservations. Every glossy publication and major newspaper featured the bags, eventually attracting foreign media like Vanity Fair Italia and Anna Wintour’s Vogue. It would be very tempting to say "And the rest is history," but then there is never a finality to Bea or her bags. Elated as she is over her triumph in New York, when we talked to her last Saturday, it was just another working day with her 22 devoted beaders. She’s come a long way, of course, from the time she decided to make her own bags simply because she found the best ones on the market so unaffordable and yet not exactly what she wanted. Her bags have now reached a whole new level of refinement and craftsmanship that is pure luxe in every detail. The "Cockatoo" alone has evolved into an even stranger bird with a confection of coffee and dark chocolate feathers and an even more majestic crown of crystals which she will wear proudly when she sits on the Barneys shelf. Orders from Saks and inquiries from Paris and other cities are pouring in. She probably will need to double her work force if she says yes to all of them. But Bea still insists, "These things can’t be rushed, you have to watch them carefully." They’re still her children, after all, treated with so much love and care. And they will not be let loose into the world until they’re good and ready.