by Rea Gierran
Young artist Patrick Cabral taps childhood memories of Filipino games through Havaianas Filipinas 2015
MANILA – Born from the sprightly country of Hawaii which thrived in Brazil’s rich culture, Havaianas is now taking over the soles of the Filipino consumers.
In the past, Havaianas has worked with Fashion designer Francis Libiran and illustrator, designer, Dan Matutina. This year Havaianas is headed towards a youthful and energetic direction through their collaboration with three young Filipino designers, Abbey Sy, Alessa Lanot and Patrick Cabral.
Cabral who has previously worked with Joystick Interactive, a creative solutions company based in New York is now doing freelance work. He said Havaianas first approached Alessa Lanot who referred Abbey Sy, who then referred him. “The angle is DIY or arts and crafts which we find very authentic,” Anna Gonzalez, Managing Director for Havaianas Marketing says.
According to Cabral the brief was to design Filipino culture-inspired slippers meshed with the artist’s interest. Being raised in the province and grew up in the 90s, Cabral thinks that he’s among the last generation of Filipinos who actually played classic Filipino games. “Havaianas has always been one of my most favorite brand. I started out as a web-designer when I moved to Manila from Cam Sur over 10 years ago. One of my first design hero was Adhemas Batista. I think he was one of the reason why this brand has become so famous,” he shares.
Though the artists were given the liberty to intepret the theme, Cabral’s initial idea which was Filipino sayings had to be jilted because it looked different from Abbey and Alessa’s direction. Havaianas team suggested to redirect his concept around local games. “I think it was perfect because my work always seem to revolve around the concept of ‘play’”, he shares.
Cabral’s initial worry with the project was that the finished material might not look as exciting as his design. True enough when the team first sent him the photo of the actual proudct, he freaked out. “I thought the red was too bright! I was so surprised when I saw the actual product. It was way better than what I initially intended,” he recalls. Havaianas Filipinas 2015 crossed out two bullets in his bucketlst not only because it allowed him to work with his dream brand but also because he got to work with other amazing artists. Collaboration is a rare feat for the young artist.
“The team from Havaianas has been really awesome throughout the whole process. I think in this industry, it’s a big bonus if you get to work with people that you really like. I wish all clients and collaborators are like this,” he concludes.
