Reese has been invited to speak about her work at the Qi global conference, to be held in Singapore this October. Qi is a global network of thought leaders who focus on challenges related to design, innovation and sustainability. At the conference, Reese will address how Rags2Riches shares Qi’s mission — creating human progress in harmony with nature — by upcycling waste into high-value, functional products. Reese’s lecture will take place on Friday, October 14. Click here to learn more about the conference.

Reese is excited to unveil the latest Rags2Riches handbag collection from the creative mind of renowned designer Oliver Tolentino. Born in the Philippines and based in Los Angeles, California, Tolentino has garnered acclaim for styling celebrities for high-profile, red-carpet events. His Rags2Riches collection was designed using scrap clothing and discarded materials. The bags were crafted by women from Payatas, an impoverished community built around a waste site near Manila, Philippines.

“This collection is our most intricate one to date,” says Reese. “Oliver Tolentino was able to design unique pieces that merge handweaving, new techniques, scrap cloth, fibres and natural seeds. One can definitely see and feel the exquisiteness of each piece, as they are all handmade with so much discipline and artistry.”

Click here to see more photos of the new Rags2Riches collection.

Earlier this month, Reese attended the renowned St. Gallen Symposium, organized by the International Students’ Committee in the city of St. Gallen, in eastern Switzerland. The theme of this year’s symposium was “Just Power”, examining the use and abuse of power in politics and economics.

“The symposium was refreshing, challenging and thought-provoking,” Reese says. “The whole event was impressive, especially because it was organized by students, who pulled it off with great cheer and professionalism. I believe the participants came out of the symposium with new ideas, challenges and, above all, questions.”

Reese is actively getting the message out about Rags2Riches. She was recently invited to speak to 1,200 young leaders from around the world at the What Makes a Young Champion Conference, held in Singapore. In September, she’ll be touring Europe as a speaker for the Next Generation Academy of LGT and in October, she’ll fly to the United States for the International Youth Foundation Conversations. As busy as she is, Reese is still finding time to work on the Rags2Riches new Fall collection to be unveiled this September.

Rags2Riches has launched the “Tree Bag Project,” an amazing programme that supports local artisans and the environment. Tree bags are specially designed by one of the Philippine’s premiere fashion designers, Rajo Laurel, and are handcrafted from “upcycled” materials - scrap cloth (for the handle), scrap thread (for the body), and scrap wood (for the buttons). Three Filipino communities came together to create these beautiful bags; women artisans from Payatas in Manila, indigenous weavers from Bangued in Abra and wood craftsmen from Pardo in Cebu. And going a step further for the environment, for every bag purchased, a tree is planted. The bags are available for purchase in the Philippines at: House of Laurel, Shangri La Edsa Lobby Shop, Shangri La Makati Travel Box, Firma Greenblet 3, Cultural Centre of the Philippines Gift Shop and Rags2Riches Cubao Showroom. The bags will soon be available outside of the Philippines, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Munich!