Exotic ENTRANCE
From a sea of luxury brand icons, new player Laura Natalie emerges with impressive bespoke pieces
for home-grown luxury brand Laura Natalie, it’s all about standing out from the crowd, especially with additional made-to-order services. With a current collection of vibrantly coloured exotic leather bags, you’d be hard-pressed to find one in black, though you can specifically request for one. After all, the beauty of bespoke pieces is about being the maestro of your own design, like one request the brand received for white and pink diamonds set on top-grade alligator leather.
the idea for Laura Natalie began when entrepreneur Julian chu was gift-shopping for his wife and decided to personalise a handmade bag for her. “there was a gap to serve women who wanted a unique bag, and a growing demand for personalised products,” says chu, who named the brand after his two daughters, Laura and Natalie. Launching the luxury brand was a bold move for chu, a Leeds University graduate in Accounting & Finance who also completed his professional accounting qualification and MBA in the UK. though Laura Natalie started as a pet project, chu decided to invest further in the brand after receiving great feedback from customers. An unusual business venture for a finance-trained professional, chu is passionate about design and art and saw an opportunity in a growing market for personalised luxury handbags. “today’s successful and financially independent women want to show their individuality through customisation and that’s where Laura Natalie comes in,” chu says.
Laura Natalie works with experienced italian designers to identify the newest trends in Europe during the creative process and to ensure that the designs are current. in just over two years, Laura Natalie’s customer base includes buyers from Singapore, Malaysia, china, Japan and
Dubai. The exotic leather is sourced from established tanneries in Singapore, France and Italy, where the bags are also made. Every Laura Natalie crocodile bag is certified by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Selecting the artisans was another laborious process, for which Chu visited facilities in Italy and Singapore. “We needed artisans who understood the high standards we set for our products,” says Chu, who hires artisans with decades of expertise in crafting crocodile leather bags for established luxury brands.
If there is one Laura Natalie bag every woman needs to own, Chu recommends the bestselling Kate, made of top-grade alligator leather and a luxurious soft lamb leather lining. Structured and spacious, the trapeze-shaped top-handle is an excellent every day bag, and available in a variety of colours and finishes, including matte and shine.
With many iconic brands for luxury leather bags in the market, what makes Laura Natalie stand out?
We don’t compete with mass luxury brands in the leather market. We’re a niche exotic leather handbag brand providing customised luxury handbags, in addition to our own collection. We want to redefine the ultra-luxury segment of women’s handbags with our fine jewellery-embellished crocodile bags and bespoke services. All our bags are handcrafted in premium grade crocodile leather.
Describe the Laura Natalie customer.
She enjoys luxury, values excellent craftsmanship and quality and does not need the name recognition of a big brand. She’s confident, prefers understated elegance and already owns pieces from iconic brands, but wants to be different.
Tell us about the creative process.
It takes at least four to five months to make a bag, from concept to finished product, including developing a design portfolio and sourcing exotic skins. The jewellery pieces on our bags are handmade by experienced craftsmen. We work closely with the artisans and quality-check before delivering the completed bag to the customer. Our value and promise to customers are top-quality leather, fine luxury finishing and unique pieces.
How has the response been for Laura Natalie since it was launched?
We have received a lot of positive feedback from women for our designs and finishing throughout Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China and Dubai. We get many new referrals from customers and hope to increase our brand awareness in the future. There is a growing group of sophisticated buyers in Singapore who are starting to appreciate exotic leather handbags. As a new brand, Laura Natalie aims to give these women more options and designs in the exotic leather market.
So where can we purchase Laura Natalie handbags?
Laura Natalie does not have a boutique in Singapore. So our bags are sold at private events and by appointment only. lauranatalie.com; Tel: 6823 1227 / 9859 9383; email: sales@lauranatalie.com; facebook.com/ LauraNatalie-604333723049504; Instagram.com/ lauranatalieluxlife