Katherine Kwei • • •

A former PR rep for luxury giant Louis Vuitton, Kwei was familiar with high-end skins and craftsmanship long before she started her own line. By drawing on her heritage and the tradition of Chinese knotting to make her modern luxury bags, Kwei gives her designs a special, personal quality (a far cry from what you find with her former employer’s logo covered totes). There’s no decorative bling or extras, it’s the intricate knotting that makes these bags so stunning. You might think so much handiwork would make her bags seem precious, but they look edgy and tough – a perfect representation of the modern woman who’s both feminine and strong.

Her fond childhood memories of her grandmother practicing the ancient Chinese art of knotting inspired Katherine Kwei to make this traditional handicraft a central part of all of her designs.