Victoria S. Yabut took a rather circuitous route to becoming a bag designer.

For many years, she was a chef, baking pastries and other goodies popular at bazaars. She studied psychology in college before attending the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

She would later cut short her culinary studies to start a family. When her only son Diego turned 10 a few years ago, the single mom returned to cooking school at Enderun Colleges. Thus she embarked on a fruitful career as a home chef, with her From The Kitchen of Victoria Yabut brand.

Yabut, however, is overflowing with creative juices. Sometime last year, she decided to make bags. She recently launched her first collection, exclusively available at the new Makati boutique, Idee Clothing Store (2263 Chino Roces Avenue Extension).

Idee, owned by Rica Lorenzo, has been the launching pad of late of new and exciting designers.

“I’d like to think that [I’ve always been creative],” Yabut said. “In cooking, you need a recipe. But later, as you learn, you venture out and add things that you think will be best for the dish. Bag designing is the same. At first, you think you’re very restricted, that this is only how you make a bag. After a while, you kind of get it and you express things your way.”

 

T’nalak-inspired

For a first-time designer, Yabut’s VSY minaudières have the look and polish of an industry old hand. One style, inspired by the patterns of the t’nalak fabric of the T’boli, is made of laser-cut brass in gold or silver tone, layered with a resin background.

Another style is called Alon (wave), after the wavy pattern of the laser-cut brass.

Yabut, who has also started painting—instead of illustrating her bag designs, she puts her idea first on canvas, and she shares works in progress on her Instagram—also has evening bags called Gumamela and Ylang Ylang, flowers whose feminine likenesses and multiple colors appear in layered laser-cut brass and resin.

The VSY designer, who has 12 styles in her first collection, also works with other materials like shagreen, snakeskin, mother-of-pearl and kamagong wood. The most expensive “because they’re hardest to make,” is a studded, laser-cut and resin style in zebra pattern.

Yabut also has a secondary line, called Vicsy, which uses rattan in very whimsical shapes, like the national fruit, mango, with handpainted details.

 

Softer bags

All of Yabut’s designs are crafted in Cebu.

Yabut is still learning, she said, and is very receptive to feedback. Since most of her designs are of structured, rigid shapes, Josie Natori advised her to consider also designing everyday, soft bags, and the new designer is going in that direction.

While she’s into the aesthetics of design, Yabut is also very considerate of functionality: all her minaudières can fit a cell phone, which is a must even in dressy affairs.

Yabut’s long-term goal is to export her designs. While she feels it’s too soon to show her wares at Manila FAME, that’s her plan for next year.

“I feel like this is the year when everything that I do will tie up together,” Yabut said.

“Some people have already asked me to tie up my bags, my art and my cooking. It will be really exciting if that materializes.”