R2R’s Spring/Summer Collection and Eco-Ethical Style Advocacy Launched
Rags2Riches wanted to start the year strong, and we did so with aesthETHICS – the launch of the RIIR Aranaz Spring/Summer Collection Launch.
Held in Fort Bonifacio High Street – a strategic partner of Rags2Riches – the event was brilliantly conceptualized and executed by another R2R partner, ActivAsia (special mentions to their President Manny de Luna, Direk Pogs Mendoza, Rachel Tan-Tuason, and Chuva Cruz). After sharing with them the spirit of R2R and our vision of launching both the Spring/Summer Collection and Eco-Ethical Style in – pun intended – absolute style, they came back to us with aesthETHICS – an event that fully embodies what we stand for.
And what Rags2Riches is really standing for now is the triumvirate-advocacy of Eco-Ethical Style. It’s the fusion and perfect union of the three elements Eco (environment, upcycling, organic materials), Ethical (fair trade, community-based enterprises), and Style (fashion and beauty).
I can think of no better way to share what this means than through Rags2Riches’ Eco-Ethical Style Manifesto, which we started communicating in our 2nd year Anniversary last November.
Now on to aesthETHICS, which formally started with this opening AVP :
After the introduction, Rags2Riches President (and my, ahem, fiance’ 
, Reese Fernandez – shares our new vision on Eco-Ethical Style, of embracing empowerment, beauty, and the planet.
To emphasize this new space, we unveiled R2R’s new official video – made possible by the passion and eye of director/producer Manny Angeles, in partnership with Cream Silk. Of course, this also features Rajo Laurel, the design genius and spirit which really set RIIR into motion. Truth to tell, with this video is getting closer and closer to the look and feel of the Rags2Riches’ Designer Line in our heads.
We’ve always said that Rags2Riches is the intersection of Social Cause & Fashion, and this AVP testifies to the latter. Beauty with meaning, indeed :
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Now, on to the launch of the new RIIR Aranaz Spring Summer Collection, designed by none other than Amina Aranaz-Alunan :
After the fashion show, Reese, R2r Cooperative Chairperson Cynthia Cabrera, and Becky Aranaz (Amina couldn’t go as she’s currently pregnant), and of course the Nanay Artisans of Payatas go up to stage after the launch reveal of the new collection. This is what we mean when we say that The Back End is the Front End.
After the Spring/Summer Collection reveal, Reese then revealed Rags2Riches’ new partner and Eco-Ethical Style Ambassadress …
… none other than Ms. Chin-Chin Gutierrez, a Filipina woman that is the absolute manifestation of Eco, Ethical, and Style.
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Whew! What an intensely awesome event aesthETHICS was.
But I guess what made it most meaningful for me wasn’t just the glitz and pomp and glamor of the whole show.
It boiled down to a text that we received from our friend, Jason Tan :
“Hey guys, saw a couple of payatas girls weeping with joy and pride during the show. That’s the ultimate sign of success right there. Congratulations! ”
He totally got what we were launching that night. Because it definitely wasn’t just about our new line of bags. It goes way beyond that.
And if YOU do get it, then we’re more than happy to welcome you into this new world of Eco-Ethical Style.
