IN AN increasingly diverse world, an artist is taking multiple influences around the world and fusing them with her own Filipino heritage.
Adrienne Charuel, the founder of Maison Métisse, took us around her booth at MaArte at the Pen, which ran from Aug. 4 to 6 at The Peninsula Manila. There, we saw a Japanese loom, pieces embroidered by artisans from Abra, and various fabrics dyed with native ingredients (coconut apparently yields a dye like old rose).
The name comes from her own experiences studying in France: “It was my very first time living alone in a foreign country,” she said, recalling her fashion design studies at ESMOD (École supérieure des arts et techniques de la mode) Paris. “Métisse” is French and refers to a woman of mixed heritage (as she is) and has the same root for the Spanish mestiza. However, she says, “It’s also not just about mixed blood — it’s also a mix of things that I’ve learned.”
Ms. Charuel, by the way, is also the niece of celebrated Filipino designer Josie Natori. She said that they only formally met when she was studying abroad. “She’s also an Almeda, but it’s a really big family. I actually met her for the first time when I was studying design in Paris. I reached out to her.”
Asked how her aunt’s name looms over her own work, she said, “It’s really how she tells me to keep going.”
“I think the tenacity, and doing what we love, and being passionate — the tenacity probably comes from the women in the family,” she said.
Ms. Charuel’s clothing, while rooted in Filipino heritage, as seen in the handwoven pieces she creates, contain various references to other cultures. There are crocheted pieces that resemble Irish lace (also colored with the pink coconut dye). Cloud-like prints on handwoven silk and cotton reflect her own studies in Japan, where she learned dyeing techniques. Another interesting collection are various clothes woven in some parts, joined together by loose, unwoven thread (her own innovation).
From her own studies in France, she learned precision. “It’s really on another level, what I experienced there. The teachers are very strict. If you’re one millimeter out of your pattern, you have to repeat the whole thing,” she said.
After her studies in Paris, she moved in New York in 2015, where she also sold woven fabrics. However, because of her husband’s career, they moved to the Philippines in 2018. Here, she decided to explore her own heritage through her work. “It was like finding who I am, in different ways.”
She showed BusinessWorld some pieces hand-embroidered by a local group in Abra. She pointed out symbols in the embroidery: a nail that represented hard work, next to an embroidered rice plant, symbolizing a good harvest. She said that at one point she met with the artisans once a month (taking a seven- to 13-hour bus trip to get up there) and witnessed firsthand the poverty that these groups face. She recalls a story about some families having to sell their ancestral textiles for cheap, just to eat. The story was not lost on her, and she donated sewing machines, mannequins, and solar lamps (due to frequent power outages). She told BusinessWorld that for their work for her, they are paid above living wage, and she also set up an artisan fund that gives the artisans 80% of the sale price from the items they have worked on. “I let them price their products, and if it’s too low, then I help them,” she said.
A Saori loom in the center of the room she occupied for MaArte was not just for show (she did encourage guests to have a seat and weave). Saori encourages the practice of simple weaving techniques for creative expression, but another organization has adopted Saori looms for providing creative therapy for children with autism and other developmental disorders. She herself teaches weaving and offers her support by buying fabric created from these activities and donating a part of the proceeds from the garment made from the fabric. “It celebrates mistakes, compared to patterned weaves where you have to be perfect,” she said.
As we approach a world sometimes afraid of diversity, where new faces can be shoved out for being different, Ms. Charuel’s brand explores the possibilities for harmony that can be created through mixing and combining. “I was privileged enough to have many different experiences in my life in different countries,” she said. “I get to have my personal experiences expressed through what I’m creating — not just from one point of view, but from multiple points of view.
“There’s nothing bad in incorporating what you’ve learned, and still not lose who you are in the process.”
Learn more about Maison Métisse through maison-metisse.com. — Joseph L. Garcia
