NEW YORK — It seems the fashion gene sometimes skips a generation.
Designer Katherine Kwei’s mother and father work in real estate and finance, respectively, but for her handbag line launching for spring, Kwei looked to her grandmother for inspiration.
“My grandmother was a seamstress [in Hong Kong] who made clothing for Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Quinn,” said Kwei, who lives in Manhattan but resided in New York and Hong Kong growing up. “She taught me the ancient technique of Chinese knotting and I grew up watching her.”
Kwei’s namesake line incorporates that technique, called the Chinese eternity knot, which is said to symbolize love and happiness. The bags’ designs, which are done in pliable lambskin and water snakeskin, reflect the complex layered knot motif, whether on front of a toffee-colored tote in a braided style or curling beneath at the bottom of a salmon-colored clutch.
The collection contains no hardware or logo details.
“I saw a lack of bags without hardware” in the market, she said. “I didn’t add any grommets or metal fittings because I think people are getting away from the beauty of the leather.”
The nine-piece collection, which wholesales from $275 to $775, will make its debut at the Fashion Coterie show on Tuesday and is being represented by Cynthia O’Connor & Co. It already has been picked up by Villa Moda in Kuwait and Lane Crawford in Japan, which will launch the bags at retail in November.
Kwei is no stranger to accessories. She headed public relations for Louis Vuitton in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2002, after which she followed her desire to design accessories, attending the London College of Fashion. In London, the designer worked for several British handbag firms, including Billy Bag, before heading to New York, where she interned in the accessories department of Zac Posen.