Cover Carol de Leon and her hand crafted design pieces
Carol de Leon and her hand crafted design pieces
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Carol de Leon’s Angkan is how her design eye lends itself to objets d’art for the home
Carol de Leon’s creative path is a study in range and return. After years immersed in the ateliers and studios of Europe, where she refined her understanding of form, texture and proportion, she came home to rediscover what had shaped her from the beginning. That journey across cultures and disciplines did not dilute her identity; it sharpened it. At Angkan, her work carries the ease of global fluency, yet its pulse is unmistakably Filipino.
Her practice bridges memory and modernity. Each piece is alive with the movement of handcraft, but composed with the clarity of someone who has lived within the world’s design capitals. De Leon transforms indigenous techniques into contemporary expressions without imitation or nostalgia. Her vision draws from pre-colonial roots; from the intelligence of our ancestors’ materials, gestures and rituals, and translates them into forms that feel quietly radical in their restraint.
To encounter her work is to witness empathy rendered in structure. Her work is not about decoration; it is about connection: between hands and histories, makers and users, the local and the global. Her decades of experience have distilled into a kind of design wisdom: an understanding that refinement is not about luxury, but about listening. Each object, textile and silhouette reflects this ethos of care.
Carol de Leon’s language is one of balance: bold but never loud, modern yet deeply human. What she builds through Angkan is more than a collection; it is a cultural gesture, one that honours where we come from while proposing how we might live now.
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Above Carol de Leon’s work is filled with meaning
Above Much of the colours she uses are references to her life in Italy
Carol de Leon’s work is filled with meaning
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What comes first when you create: the line, the hand or the feeling you want the space to hold? How do your pieces shape that emotional atmosphere?
Since we are a sustainable line, we use what’s available and that greatly shapes the aesthetic of the line. We do not just go out and buy fabric; we face the challenge of extending the lifecycle of what is already existing locally. We use a combination of commercial dead stock fabric, with vintage textiles we collect from around the globe and our own local indigenous weaves. We want to have a global nomad touch in a contemporary expression from a fashion lens.
Collaboration is at the heart of the Angkan world. How do you keep the raw intelligence of indigenous craft intact while refining it into your own visual language?
My whole intention when starting the home line is to show off Philippine textiles. In my 25 years in fashion, based in LA with production in Italy and China, I never saw fabrics from the Philippines, nor did I even have a small idea of what that aesthetic would be like. I would buy the best in Comò, the best Belgian lace and French stretch leather from Premiere Vision, but Philippine textiles were just not on the radar.
Above Colour is used boldly in de Leon's work
Colour is used boldly in de Leon's work
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You often speak through colour and texture. What does that allow you to express?
In my long career in fashion, I had the amazing opportunity to work for Missoni Casa and had the pleasure of being mentored by Rosita Missoni herself. The multiple colourways we had were complex and sometimes chaotic, but it all worked. I learned to go with my heart and express a certain energetic vibration. The difference between Angkan and Missoni is that we are handmade and limited edition. I advocate for expressing and telling a story of our culture, but still maintain a look that’s fashionable, attractive and relevant.
When you compose a space, what anchors it: proportion, memory or mood? How do you know when it’s balanced, when to stop?
When making a new collection of pillows, I work with different sizes and look at the collection as a whole. If I have 12 pillows, the sizes vary and the fabrics, colours and hand embroidery are assigned to the different shapes in a well-merchandised manner, just like doing a clothing line. You can buy one pillow as an accent to your space, or for some clients, buy the entire 12-piece collection as a whole. When this happens, I know the client understands the merchandising that took place, and they appreciate the collection as a whole. I love that! They buy the whole story.
See also: How Lucy Harris is rewriting modernist design through memory, material and mood
Above Stripes that are both elegant and fun
Above Interesting layering of colour, shape and texture
Stripes that are both elegant and fun
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What element in your design process creates that kind of upbeat energy for you?
Because we are a social enterprise that gives marginalised communities a livelihood through hand embroidery, I think that energy comes through in the final product. I also hand-draw on the fabrics, like a canvas, so there will be a guide for the artisans to follow when hand embroidering. I assign all the colours for each thread they stitch, so the colour language is super curated. There is a boldness and human touch in the designs that does create a high vibration, and it uplifts the space. The human connection is important between the artisans and the final consumer. Upcycling fabrics and working with communities is a social responsibility. I’m fortunate to be able to create and design in this win-win situation, clients are happy and livelihood flows into the communities.
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