There used to be a time in the world of fashion when to become a designer – you had to go to college and study design. To launch your brand, you had to be a designer and so on… There seemed to be barriers to entry that added to the allure and desire that enveloped the fashion industry.
But those days are truly over. In fact – it is so easy these days to set up and launch your own fashion brand that anyone can do it from a far-flung corner of the world as long as they had a smartphone.
But what is not so easy to do and what they don’t teach you in fashion school is life experience and the ability to spot a gap in the market for a product that doesn’t yet exist.
What they also can’t teach you in college is the fearlessness to jump all-in on an idea you believe in and venture into a whole new world you know little of.
And this lowering of the entry barrier as a result of the evolution of technology has enriched the fashion industry immeasurably. New fashion entrepreneurs have brought to life ideas that can be born only as a result of an unmet need and desire for something better, more functional, and smarter.
One perfect example of this is the founder of the luxury accessories brand FLORE QUO – Florence Tsang. She grew up in a family of lawyers and it was only natural that she would follow in the family footsteps and tradition. “My father is a lawyer and had founded his own law firm. As a teenager, I used to work at his firm during the holidays, answering the telephone, doing various clerical work and accompanying him to Court.”
As the founder of her own law firm, she is busy and time is in short supply. Like many highly academic women – she is passionate and expertly skilled at problem-solving.
After years of shopping luxury goods and being frustrated with the experience and designs – she didn’t accept the status quo – she decided to do something about it and not settle for second best.
“As a fan of luxury goods, I found that many of the bags I bought became dated in a short time and also straps started breaking or magnets in the closure fell out. When I travelled through airports, I was struck by how many bags were on display in the shops at the airports and that was the time when there was a lot of press coverage about how some brands would destroy or burn their unsold goods. In 2018, the idea came to me of creating bags that could be treasured and remain relevant over time by having interchangeable, jewel-like ornaments.”
And so, she set off on creating the bag she was missing. A classic and timeless bag that is compact and small enough to travel with, classic enough not to date in terms of style and with an added fun element to keep it versatile and desirable.
The Vivace Clutch bag is the signature brand product.
Designed in a smooth soft shape reminiscent of a pebble, the clutch is made out of buttery soft leather on the outside and a contrasting silky leather on the inside. The metal frame that holds the two halves is engineered to perfection and smoothly allows the clutch to close. But what truly makes this clutch fun and special is the closure.
A jewel-like clasp would make any bag desirable. But a jewel-like clasp that you can change for another, and another, and another….to suit your mood, to suit your style and to suit your taste. “FLORE QUO enables and encourages customers to love their bags for longer by incorporating innovative, interchangeable, jewelled ornaments, representing a marriage of jewellery with handbags, so that handbags can be timeless, just like jewellery.”.
The idea feels new and exciting because no one else is doing it. There are not many handbag designers that design mindfully for women who do not want to buy a new bag every season. There are not many brand owners who recognise that as women consumers we fall in love with the luxury products we buy and we don’t want to relegate them to the back of the wardrobe, but equally, we don’t want to lose the excitement we feel when we choose it for an occasion.
FLORE QUO clutch bags are the Pandora version of charm related products. Could this be the beginning of a new trend…?
Possibly. Why not!
We all love the idea of charm bracelets and the ability they offer to add on charms that delight us and we connect to memories.
There are also many bags that also offer functionality and interchangeable elements that are practical and help women transition from large to small bag capacity, or from day to night. But not one that offers the euphoria women experience at the sight of precious jewellery. Unlike most jewellery – you wear it without being able to see and enjoy it yourself, the FLORE QUO Vivace clutch bags are designed with the woman in mind. The sensual touch of the leather, the soft delicate shape of the bag and the delight experienced at the sight of the jewelled, interchangeable closure are the unique elements iconic fashion products all have in common.
With the subject of sustainability and the climate crisis at the forefront of all western countries’ political agendas and particularly poignant for the fashion industry – the FLORE QUO brand is leading the way to a more mindful consumption of fashion. The concept of less is more, elevated to a whole new sustainable level that recognises the consumers’ desire and need for newness and at the same time helps reduce waste and mindless, obsessive, compulsive shopping.
View the full collection at https://www.florequo.com/
Become a Fashion Insider
Join thousands of other fashionpreneurs and get excited about your inbox again!
