The Cebuano designer injects his love for storytelling into his recently opened Manila boutique. To enter Neil Felipp’s boutique at the Peninsula Hotel in Manila, one must use the tail of a golden siren to knock on the door. This motif is an homage to designer Neil Felipp San Pedro’s very first minaudière, designed for who he calls his eternal muse, his mother Luz San Pedro.
“She was going to an event wearing a blue gown, beautiful blue shoes, and sapphire earrings, but she didn’t have a bag. So she asked me, ‘Neil, can you design one for me?'” San Pedro reminisces, saying that creating this design was a tall order, as his mother was also his biggest critic. “I had to go back to memories of her bringing me to the beach in Cebu.
I’ve always thought of myself as a little mermaid whenever I’m at the beach with her.” Every piece that he designs is layered: interpretations of folktales intermeshed with his personal history and perspectives. The Siren minaudière also takes from by Hans Christen Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” infamously inspired by the writer’s own tragic romance.
Literary and fantastical motifs present themselves often in San Pedro’s work, which he credits to his personal love for literature growing up. Perhaps one of his most interesting designs to date is the “Kiss of Midas and Medusa” minaudière, a rectangular clutch accentuated by the brand’s signature hardware in the form of golden serpents wrapped around. This surre.