JOS mundo
Square toes, fish skin, deadstock leather — shoes that look like they've always existed in Marikina, made by the hands that kept the tradition alive.
Shop JOS mundoJOS mundo started with someone opening a dusty archive in Marikina and recognizing something. That instinct has never left. Karen Bolilia and her collective make shoes that look like they were designed somewhere specific, for someone specific — which they were. The fish skin, the bronze varnish, the deadstock leather: none of it is incidental. It's an argument for what Filipino craft can look like when you stop importing your references.
The Founders
Karen Bolilia
Co-Founder & Creative Director
Anna Canlas
Co-Founder
Fast Facts
Found in a Shoemaker's Archive
In 2018, Anna Canlas was invited into Rico Sta. Ana's workshop in Marikina. Rico is a fourth-generation shoemaker, and his archive held pairs from the '90s: square toes, block heels, candy colors, shapes that felt ahead of their time when they were made and somehow still do. She photographed them and sent the pictures to Karen Bolilia. The two Preview magazine alums decided immediately to revive the line. The name they chose, Josanna, honored Jose Sta. Ana, Rico's father — the first Marikina shoemaker to ship to the United States, a supplier to Saks Fifth Avenue in the 1960s.
"Fish skin is such a special material because you don't encounter that very often, but it makes sense for us here in the Philippines."
What became JOS mundo grew from that archive into an all-women collective of four. The name evolved from an internal nickname; mundo was added as an homage to the world they were building. One hundred percent of production stays in Marikina, using deadstock and landed leather sourced within the city. The signature details became recognizable quickly: custom wooden heels finished in bronze varnish, antique studs, fish skin uppers, and the slightly lifted toe Rico Sta. Ana developed to keep toes from spilling over the edge — a small functional detail with decades of craft behind it.
JOS mundo was never only a shoe brand. The collective runs a physical showroom bookable by appointment, launched a documentary series inviting creatives across Philippine regions to document their daily lives, and produces in-person events inside overlooked Philippine landmarks. Vogue Philippines, Inquirer Lifestyle, Tatler Asia, and Preview have all covered them. The brand's tagline explains its emotional register plainly: "A JOS girl is at home with herself." The shoes are the entry point.
Why We Featured Them
What Makes JOS mundo Different
01
A Lineage, Not Just a Location
JOS mundo didn't choose Marikina for its branding potential. They found Rico Sta. Ana's specific family archive — shoes designed by a fourth-generation craftsman whose father supplied Saks Fifth Avenue in the 1960s — and built forward from there. The provenance is real.
02
Materials That Are Actually Considered
Fish skin appears in their designs because, as Karen puts it, it makes sense for the Philippines. Every pair uses deadstock or landed leather sourced within Marikina. These aren't sustainability talking points; they're the consequence of sourcing with intention in a specific place.
03
A Brand That Builds a World
Beyond the shop: a bookable apartment showroom, a regional creative documentary series, and events held inside Philippine architectural landmarks. JOS mundo treats brand-building as cultural practice — not content strategy.
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Each collection is limited — when it's gone, it's gone.