From darkness into the light
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Designer Nancy Wong offers sophisticated but edgy bags with instant appeal to the urban fashion crowd
Nancy Wong has always dared to be different. The niece of Somchai Songwattana, founder of leading Thai fashion label Flynow, she made her debut on the retail market 13 years ago and launched her own and very successful brand Ravens Heaven in 2010.
Wong was selling her creations in Chatuchak Weekend Market back in 1998 when she started chatting with a Japanese retailer who told her he was looking for a new supplier of leather bags in Thailand. Within months, she was co-designing collections of leather handbags for a range of Japanese brands who sold their wares at multi-label stores in Tokyo and Osaka.
After three years, she enrolled in the Design and Management programme at the Parsons School of Design in New York and began to learn everything about the fashion business from marketing to manufacturing in Hong Kong and China.
In 2008, she headed back to Bangkok and was taken on by leading luxury fashion company LBG, the official distributor of Burberry, Escada, La Perla, L'Occitane and Guerlain.
“I wanted to use my creativity to define who and what I am and that led to the launch of Ravens Heaven in 2010. I showcased my first collection of leather bags at international fashion fairs in Japan and France. While the feedback was good, I realised I needed to make my brand known on the local market first,” Wong says.
She started with counters at Central Chidlom, Siam Paragon and Zen and recently opened her flagship store in Siam Center, which stocks a wide range of handbags, clutches, pouches, totes, wallets and name card holders as well as bow ties and bracelets.
Located on the third floor, the store resembles a gothic church with a predominance of black and copper and coffin-shaped showcases. Her designs too look like abstract art works, playing with the raven and unicorn to symbolise death and paradise.
Her bags are urban and edgy, with an elegant structure, playful details and good cutting. Versatile and smart with a wealth of hidden functions, her designs are made from premium cow leather, pony hair, suede and goat leather with exotic textures, all imported from Italy
“Most of my bags come in dull shades to relate to darkness though I also offer some designs in vibrant colours. They look glamorous and masculine,” she says.
The highlights include a Camera Classic clutch with extendable zip and strap, Pilgrim EP Camera Classic bags with natural cobra pattern, the Pilgrim Suede Clutch with a textile-print and Square Frame and Diamant Frame Fold-Over clutches.
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>>Ravens Heaven is on the third floor of Siam Center and open daily from 10am to 10pm. |Call (02) 658 1564, |(091) 205 2521, or visit www.RavensHeaven.com and the “RavensHeaven” page on Facebook.
