Watch: In The Studio with Neil Felipp

The accessories designer welcomes us to his boutique in Cebu, where he talks about his literary influences, the stories and crafts that define his eponymous brand, and the family memories that shape his pride of place.

In his work room, Neil Felipp San Pedro brings out a woven rattan purse or kopit from the Cordilleras, which belonged to his mother in high school. He recounts how she would use it to store her baon (packed lunch), snacks, money, and “her little lipstick,” details that summon fondness in his voice, as if he can hear her words being narrated to him in his head. 

“She gave this to me when I was just starting [my career] and she said, ‘I want you to keep this.’ It’s not only sentimental in a way that it is coming from my mom, but it’s also part of our culture,” Neil says. 

The memory stirs a creative impulse in the designer, who shares other keepsakes from his family’s past: a three-page love letter from the early days of his grandparents’ courtship, after they had moved to Cebu; a portrait of the two on a trip in Athens, Greece; and an early sketch of the Medusa and Midas minaudière, a defining design among his brand’s signature clutches. 

Inside his boutique, one can trace the evolution of Neil’s practice: from the ancient myths that spark his imagination, to the local crafts that shape his vision, and to the personal memories that ground his identity. All of these are realms the designer has returned to since founding his eponymous brand in 2010.

For this episode of In The Studio, a series that follows artists in their creative spaces, Neil talks about making his first minaudière, the Siren in Blue Capiz Shell, for his mother; his design influences that range from Antoni Gaudí and Gustav Klimt to Alexander McQueen; and his plans to expand from working with shell and brass to also explore basketry, ceramics, and 3D technology, a way to push traditional Philippine crafts in contemporary Filipino design.

Baked into the soul of his pieces, which span bags, accessories, fragrances, and home decor, are stories that captured Neil in his adolescent years; an avenue for him to escape into other worlds, but also a medium for him to connect with others.

“Ever since I started [designing], I’ve always looked at literature,” he says. “I’ve always wondered, what would happen if this character meets this character?”

As he went on to study industrial design (now called product design) at UP Cebu, even apprenticing under renowned furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue, Neil grew more immersed in the world of fashion. He cites Alexander McQueen’s last full collection, Plato’s Atlantis, as a catalyst for his own design approach. The 2010 show envisioned a future where global warming had submerged the earth, forcing humans to evolve into underwater creatures. 

“[McQueen] was the one that made me really want to think about that ‘what if?’ of the story,” he expresses. “It set the tone for [the brand] in creating storytelling that we apply not only to the pieces we make, but in the experiences that we want to share with our audience.”

Neil also recognizes that storytelling extends beyond the object itself, as a piece converses with the person who carries it. Remembering his late mother, he shares how his first minaudière or evening bag was made to compliment her outfit at a formal event, and how the final piece served as an homage to both her and their shared home.

“I remember she was wearing an off-shoulder midnight blue gown, sapphire earrings, and beautiful blue shoes. But she did not have a bag!” he remarks.

“She asked me, can I make a bag for her? Easier said than done,” he admits with a laugh. “So, I tried to look back at my childhood memories with her, and that was of my love of Cebu.”

Known as the economic and cultural hub of Visayas, as well as a UNESCO Creative City of Design, Cebu is famed for its detailed shell crafts and skilled artisans. Both are at the heart of the Neil Felipp brand, whose base techniques such as lost-wax casting (in which liquid metal is shaped by a wax mold) also draw from Neil’s lineage. 

Exposed to his family’s business in metalwork and jewelry-making (as his grandfather, Apolinar Suarez, established the Cebu-based manufacturer Suarez and Sons), Neil has long been interested in the possibilities of Filipino design.

Having captured both the local and international markets, with his luxury minaudières spotted on celebrities like Liza Soberano, Bella Poarch, Doja Cat, and Gemma Chan in the film Crazy Rich Asians, Neil sees collaborations with other designers among his next steps. Locally, he has teamed up with Jefferson Si, Martin Bautista, and Kelvin Morales, while last year, he announced his part in a Tiffany and Co. campaign celebrating craftsmanship.

Now in the 16th year of his brand, Neil reaffirms his goal: to celebrate and platform the creativity capabilities of the Philippines in a global setting.

“That’s how I want to push the brand as we move forward,” he says. “[Our craftsmanship] is part of our identity. It is what creates soft power. It is what makes Filipino, Filipino.”

Watch the full episode of “In The Studio with Neil Felipp” below.

https://youtu.be/n9Av5zGS_uo

Media Channels Editor: Anz Hizon. Videographer: Lorenzo Corro. Media Channels Producer and Offline Editor: Angelo Tantuico. Online Video Editor: Liam Tangan. Colorist: Nala Chincuanco. Media Channels Video Editor: Wainah Joson. Introduction by Aylli Cortez.