Strong like its material of choice, Fino Leatherware has withstood fierce competition and changes in the shopping landscape without much fanfare.
Like its low-key founders Rose Anne Bautista and her business-minded husband Dr. Rommel Bautista, Fino has been a quiet presence in major malls, always giving fashion followers in the know the assurance of Filipino style, craft and design.
The story is one that never fails to impress even when retold: Rose Ann initiated the production of their first collection from the need to make business paraphernalia for her then-fiance Rommel, who was still studying to be an ophthalmologist. In another interview years back, Rommel said he had spotted a leather briefcase in New York that he could not afford at the time, so he resolved to make one on his own. Tapping a furniture maker to help them, the couple eventually found a demand for their leather products that at first consisted of wallets, checkbook holders, pen cases, agendas and folios.
Thirty-three years later, Fino is a standout maker of premium quality bags — ones that are lusted after by style influencers.
The company has evolved through over three decades of existence, and with their daughter now involved in the business, a fresh wave of inspiration is unveiled in its latest collection — a range of shapes, sizes and colors in hand-crinkled vegetable-tanned leather that first came out in 2015.
In early July, the brand decided to celebrate Philippine handcrafted with a collection of bags showcased through a collaboration with designer Jo Ann Bitagcol.
“So we started 33 years ago, and 10 years ago we already started doing it more in a crafty way,” Rose Ann tells DAILY TRIBUNE. “We started the Artisan Collection 10 years ago and Jo Ann was part of this whole process. She even became our first model.
“This item that we’re doing is more meticulous — even the leather is not as simple as just plain leather,” Rose Ann adds, describing the collection that revives its signature hand-woven and wrapping leatherwork and chaining techniques.
“The inspiration just started when we wanted to do the hand wrappings, which are the first, maybe, the first leather crafts in Philippine history, right? It’s like wrapping knives or wrapping weaponry. So that was the kind of tooling type of craft that really inspired us. And we want to infuse it in modern contemporary shapes and designs, more geometric,” she tells DAILY TRIBUNE.
This 2025 edition takes techniques from the past and brings it to the present — a true salute to Filipino artisans. And as part of this Hats Off venture, Fino also created a special line of artisan hats in collaboration with Lucban Hats and JCV Enterprise, using abaca and raffia with leather trims.
Rhea Matute, executive director of the Design Center of the Philippines, comments that understanding craft is key to bringing tradition forward. “It’s very important to be able to create new things and to innovate. You have to understand the material. You have to understand what it can do, and you have to understand even the artisans that are behind it…and to respect their know-how.
“Design rooted in authenticity doesn’t just preserve culture — it moves it forward.”
Such is Fino’s quality and craftsmanship that its bags last for generations. “We would like to think that the classics are for keeps just like we have pieces that are actually given to their children and sometimes the grandchildren,” Rose Ann says.