Kotur – The Fine Art of Evening Accessories

A Kotur bag loves soirées and adores being in the spotlight. Stars looking for an eye-catcher on the red carpet swear by them. Images of the Oscars and the Golden Globe awards, of Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Anne Hathaway, or Jessica Alba posing with their Koturs speak for themselves. “Long live Hollywood!” these gorgeous accessories seem to sing out loudly. Only insiders know that the creator of these clutches weaves her magic from Hong Kong.

Amidst the typically eclectic Hong Kong mix of old businesses, high-rises, boutiques, and galleries, Fiona Kotur has designed an exclusive town house for herself and her family. Meter-high windows and displays of modern art ranging from Alexander Calder to Candida Höfer give us a first impression. And the vintage sofa standing next to the self-designed cocktail table in front of an Art Deco minibar is obviously the ideal scenario for the occasional party to celebrate a new collection. It’s ten o’clock in the morning, and 50-year-old Kotur sweeps down the stairs with the unmistakable confidence of an uptown girl: fair-haired, stylish, eloquent – and open for anything.

Fiona Kotur has always been happy to take on new challenges and 15 years ago, when her husband got an offer to work for an investment bank in Hong Kong, she wholeheartedly embraced the adventure with her two young sons. And her “Let’s do it approach” has been rewarded. She had only just settled down in the Chinese metropolis when she found an amazing treasure. A Chinese friend had told her about a warehouse full of precious brocade fabrics from the ‘50s and ‘60s. The owner of the family business was 91 and had once produced for the best-known fashion houses in Europe. “He was an eccentric,” she tells us. “Rather than handing over his trade secrets to the competition, he preferred to lock them all away and let them rot.” Yet Kotur knew first-class quality when she saw it and, after a short talk with her husband, she bought the undamaged masterpieces at the asking price – a discount was not on the table. The inventory was moved into the apartment they lived in at the time, taking up an entire bedroom.

From a cute charity object to a technically sophisticated bestseller

Then in 2003, when she was asked to contribute something to a charity event, Kotur designed her first minaudière out of brocade and had it produced in a small workshop on mainland China. She sold thousands of them, among others at Bergdorf Goodman, where she still had all her valuable contacts from her days as a leading accessory designer at Ralph Lauren. Designing clutches and minaudières is something she particularly enjoys. “I think it’s just wonderful how you can use them to express your personality,” Fiona Kotur says. First magazine articles started appearing in the US, where she was portrayed as a housewife who more or less worked out of her living room. And, still today, this is not entirely untrue – except that now she has four sons, 16, 15, and 10-year-old twins. And in the meantime, many other fabrics and materials as well as hundreds of new bag models have been added to her collection.

As her supply of brocade dwindled – even Italian manufacturers weren’t able to copy the old inlays despite their best efforts – she started working with mother-of-pearl from the Philippines, lacquerware from Thailand, and snakeskin. Some clutches or minaudières are made of acrylic glass and shout “Lucky” or have a dollar sign that lights up to the beat of music. At first Kotur was hesitant about including technical gimmicks, which is why today she’s all the more proud of her “absolute bestseller,” the patented “Get Smart Bag,” which has a magnet for a smartphone on the outside of the bag, guaranteeing easy-access at all times.

Growing up with art

Fiona Kotur says she inherited her creative talent from her mother, Sheila Camera Kotur, “my most important muse.” Camera Kotur was a designer, fashion illustrator, and interior designer, and thought nothing of wearing Pucci when doing garden work – and still sports her characteristic dark bob today. “I’m not allowed to reveal my mother’s exact age,” Kotur says with a grin. She’s a close friend of 95-year-old style icon Iris Apfel – and of the same indestructible quality. Sheila Camera Kotur made the illustrations for her daughter’s website, “for which I’m incredibly grateful,” Fiona Kotur adds.

The home she grew up in was full of the arts: easels, art books, and English paintings. “My sister and I were always being dragged along to auctions and art galleries, which we found extremely boring. But today I draw upon these memories.” Later she studied art history and literature. And even today her blue library featuring an original Yves Klein table is her favorite spot to gather inspiration for a new collection. “I love Pinterest, but a good book remains the best inspiration.”

From a bookshelf, she enthusiastically selects the creative source for her new summer collection of bags that are being embroidered in India –Slim Aarons’ book “A Wonderful Time.” In the ‘60s, the photographer documented Hollywood’s high society, the elegant poolside soirées in Beverly Hills. What mainly drew Kotur’s attention to this book are the eccentric jewelry creations by David Webb and Jean Schlumberger that Liz Taylor loved so much. Art, pop culture, icons from the past such as Marchesa Casati or more contemporary stars such as Blondie all serve as sources of inspiration. Fiona Kotur is extremely well-informed and only needs a little inspiration.

Conveniently, her office is located only two minutes from her home, although the largest part of her work takes place outside of home and office: visiting Chinese and Indian factories and talking to buyers, stylists, and journalists. Until recently, she also had a large showroom, but decided this wasn’t worth keeping up any longer. Kotur says she’s noticed how “the luxury market has totally changed.” Nowadays customers prefer to buy online. And, in any case, she has never sought a global career like that of Tory Burch, a friend from her time at Ralph Lauren’s and whose brand she helped launch from Hong Kong. Fiona Kotur sets her priorities according to her mother’s advice. “Design is too much work to keep it as a hobby – but it should work with your personal goals.”

Her family has always been the most important thing in her life. At 6 a.m., Fiona Kotur walks the dog, then she makes breakfast. When her second-eldest looks in, she stops to remind him about his application for a new school. “My daily life can be a little chaotic,” she laughs. As such, the chic niche she has created for herself in Hong Kong is more than enough.

Some of her favorite creations are lined up in her dressing room, which is clad in golden, hand-painted silk tapestry. Kotur calls it her feminine sanctuary from the male dominance in the rest of the house. Here is also where she keeps the sparkling velvet loafers and high heels that were added to her collection in 2016 – shoes that her customers wear to business lunches and cocktail parties – as well as a part of the jewelry collection she recently designed for Swarovski. The collection features large Swarovski crystals set in cuffs and necklaces made of walnut. “I was delighted by their request to design for them,” she says. “The great thing about collaborations like these are that a new customer segment gets to know me.”

Apropos customer acquisition: in the next few weeks Fiona Kotur will be launching “World of Kotur,” her own webzine, that bears the same name as her blog, in which she reveals the inspiration behind each line she creates. In her new online magazine, she intends to write more actively to generate further interest in the glamorous lifestyle she promotes. Naturally this project will be linked directly to her online shop. In addition to her unmistakable sense for trends, Fiona Kotur obviously also has a talent for business – something she inherited from her father’s side of the family.