Loafing around: The clockwork behind Matzeliger

The Philippines has always had a rich and colorful tradition of shoemaking. Boasting true to life tales of Imeldific handcrafted shoe collections in the thousands, it’s a practice that has found its spiritual capital in the northeast side of the metro, Marikina City. With the city hogging a whopping 70 percent of the country’s overall shoe production, school administrations and curious tourists alike have made it a point to flock to the city’s shoemaking factories for field trips, mostly to immerse themselves in the famed city’s culture and to gain insight on the complex shoemaking process.

The hallowed factories in this area showcased Filipino shoemakers who were at par, if not better, than their international counterparts. However, in the advent of globalization, foreign brands have infiltrated the local market, thereby challenging and sometimes even eclipsing local brands in vying for the customers’ affections. With this in mind, a group of Lasallian entrepreneurs, namely former RVR-COB President Juancho del Rosario (IV, MKT), former Chief Legislator Patrick Kahn (II, INSYS), Kayne Litonjua (APC, ’14), and Jorge Nicolas (MKT, ’13) have decided to infuse new life into the nation’s storied footwear industry by establishing their own shoe brand, Matzeliger.

 Rookie steps

Founded in July 2014, Matzeliger stemmed from one Jan Ernst Matzeliger, who, in the 19^th century, was responsible for the invention of a revolutionary shoemaking machine. Unfortunately, not only did Matzeliger’s invention come at the expense of his health, having succumbed to Tuberculosis at the early age of 36, but his achievements were also omitted from a vast majority of history books up until recently.

“We saw a parallelism between his [Matzeliger’s] predicament to that of Filipino cobblers. These people put so much effort into their craft and what they do in general that it’s disheartening to see that they’re greatly underappreciated. That’s why we settled on that as the name; by identifying the brand with such a figure, we’re putting this often overlooked tradition of quality Filipino craftsmanship into the forefront,” explains del Rosario.

As of press time, Matzeliger’s Ivy League-reminiscent penny loafers and moccasins only come in two colors each, black and brown. Each cobbled pair takes roughly half a month to be made for each customer due to its handcrafted nature. While the idea of just buying straight off the rack from the nearest commercial establishment may seem tempting, the founders guarantee that the act of waiting for a pair will be worth it. “Each piece is made by hand, that’s why it takes around half a month. But all formalities aside, it really is worth it. If you had the chance that I got to see the shoemakers in action, you’d appreciate it more. It’s not even an industry for these guys, it’s an art form.”

Keeping it steady

When they’re not busy with the promotion and upkeep of the business, del Rosario and Kahn juggle their student government duties and their academic studies, as both hold positions in the University Student Government. The latter two of the quad, Litonjua and Nicolas, have already moved onto working for companies after their respective graduations. The former is now a management trainee at L’Oreal while the latter has been busy working in the trade marketing division of Diageo Philippines.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, del Rosario attempts to explain their seemingly work-intensive predicament, “I guess it’s just the same with anything else that requires juggling responsibilities. If you have a passion for anything, you’ll try to find a way to balance everything.”

A potent philosophy

When asked about the blueprint that they had delicately mapped out for the shoe label’s future, the founders opted to remain secretive in traditional businessman-like fashion, perhaps so as not to shed too much skin to likely competitors on the prowl. They were, however, more than happy to spare a few words regarding their conceptual mascot, which they frequently namedrop in Facebook and Instagram posts: the “Matzeliger Man.”

“Manners maketh man,” del Rosario started, alluding to the age-old adage that recently made a cultural comeback as a result of the film Kingsman. The idea behind the Lasallian outfit’s brand revolves around the concept of a modern Filipino gentleman: dapper, well versed in polite customs, and big in ambition.

In spite of the obvious fact that the founders are in the business of selling footwear, the four men claimed they don’t see themselves as a fashion brand. “There is a stark difference between fashion and style. Fashion is trendy and will mostly likely fall out of favor after a few seasons, but style is classic—style is the whole package… you have to be charismatic, well-dressed, and have proper demeanor, all at the same time. It’s not just the clothes at work; you’re not swaying along with trends. You have a firm grip of what you want. That’s what we’re trying to get across via Matzeliger,” del Rosario continued.

The risk, however, of falling into murky waters remains palpable as the brand treads carefully between its financial nature and its philosophy; recognizing this, del Rosario sought to clear things right away. “Of course, we’re not saying that clothes are everything, because it isn’t… But still, as I said, it’s all about presenting yourself well and that’s part of what we aim to do. As you can see, the prices of our products are relatively lower than other brands’. That’s because we want to spread this concept of a modern Filipino gentleman to a larger audience, all the while bringing Filipino craftsmanship back to the forefront.”

All in

Musician BP Valenzuela once went against the now generally accepted “10,000 hours” theory by Malcolm Gladwell in her TED talk, stating that a project’s success has nothing to do with the duration of how long the creator has been doing it.

Certainly, conventional Gladwellian knowledge would have it that del Rosario, Kahn, Litonjua, and Nicolas haven’t been in the industry long enough to be taken seriously. But with youthful exuberance and a clear goal ahead in sight to bring quality Filipino craftsmanship back into the limelight, it’s a pretty safe bet to say that the Matzeliger founders have gotten off on the right foot.

“We’re a bunch of young lads and I’d be lying if I said we have all things covered. If people want to help us out, that would be much appreciated. So as of now, the pie in the sky goal is really just to showcase Filipino shoemaking and hopefully be able to export to other countries,” del Rosario says with an air of humility. That sky might seem like an intangible objective to these four men as of now, but there’s no doubt that its pie will taste sweeter than manna when their plan finally comes to fruition.