Carlyn knows what women need
.jpg?w=728)
Carlyn Bowery
By Rachel Lee
It’s surprising to see these two rather different designers harmonize so well together. They have one thing in common, however ― a passion for bag making.
“We wanted to offer high-quality bags at reasonable prices for busy working women,” Carlyn Creative Director Park Ji-won, 34, told The Korea Times. Carlyn is a local bag maker that launched in 2012. Park and Lee Seung-hee, 32, are the designers and founders of the brand. The duo met at Parsons The New School for Design where they studied fashion marketing.
“I’m more feminine and Park is completely the opposite, but we have the same taste when it comes to bags,” said Lee. “A lot of people around us didn’t like the idea of working together as a pair because they thought it wouldn’t last long,” she added.
Luckily, the duo has worked immensely well together ― Carlyn has gained popularity among celebrities and young, sophisticated women in a short period of time. Currently, Carlyn is sold at Hyundai and Lotte department store.
Carlyn designers Lee Seung-hee, left, and Park Ji-won / Courtesy of Carlyn
Asked if there is any meaning to its name, the artists say it was a random choice. Carlyn was chosen as it’s easy to pronounce and it feels feminine, which represents the brand identity. The color palette? It used to be rather “somber” ― a lot of grey and black shades were used but now the designers are vitalizing the overall look and feel by adding bolder colors in their designs like blue and coral.
It was when she was in New York that Park first came up with an idea of launching a bag maker offering reasonable prices in Korea, where the average price of luxury bags such as Gucci and Chanel are ridiculously higher than in other countries. There were hardly any affordable bags or accessories up for grabs on the high street.
“I think quality wise, we are more or less the same compared to big, established brands,” said Park.
Currently, they have displayed a few men’s bags in Carlyn’s collection and are planning on increasing its range.
“We are interested in men’s fashion, so will show more in the future. And we are thinking of launching a clothing line too. Maybe we will start with by collaborating on t-shirts,” said Lee.
Their future is bright. The company has already kicked off its overseas sales, selling online in China since last month and will soon enter Hong Kong and New York.
“Carlyn aims to produce an ‘it’ bag. This item would make you stand out from the crowd. It completes a look, like a pair of shoes. That’s what we are good at,” said Park. “Carlyn is like, you don’t need anything else as long as you have Carlyn,” said Lee.