Interview: Fiona Kotur Marin on Starting An Accessory Brand
Scrolling through our 500 List, an annual register of who’s who in Hong Kong (some refer to it as The Bible), always turns out to be a humbling experience. The bonanza of entrepreneurs, philanthropists and modest public figures of our city, who lead not only through mesmerising fashion sense and eloquence, but also action and years of dedication in perfecting their trades, is a main vehicle that keeps Hong Kong competitive and endearing, year upon year.
Some of them have come and gone, while others have unwaveringly entrenched themselves on the list annually. One such figure is accessory designer Fiona Kotur Marin. Her brand Kotur specialises in women’s clutches and has advanced through the ranks, from a living room-business to today’s stellar operation, with notable patrons including Elizabeth Hurley, Drew Barrymore, Vera Farmiga and many of her fellow 500 Listers.
Needless to say, the success of Marin and her brand today did not spawn overnight (although she had already made her break co-founding Tory Burch in 2004); rather it took a vision, multiple plannings – failed and improved – and the help from family and friends to achieve.
The American designer, who had also worked at Ralph Lauren, was at Harvey Nichols earlier to unveil her latest Spring collection, and sensing Hong Kong’s budding local fashion creativity, we jumped at the first opportunity to ask Marin for her words of wisdom in starting one’s own accessory brand.
HongKongTatler.com: Please you tell us about how Kotur got founded – did you have a day job back then?
Fiona Kotur Marin: I’d been in Hong Kong for a couple of years and had seen that there was a huge opportunity to be had in taking advantage of living in such close proximity to amazing manufacturing resources. Whilst winding up a previous project, I started planning Kotur, but launching a business is something that happens in stages. In the case of Kotur, I had to refine the concept, find manufacturers and set up a sales stream before founding the business, plus I had to make the initial inspiration actually work. I’d been planning Kotur for nearly two years before the first collection we sold hit the stores in January 2005.
HKT.com: What were your aspirations around the time when Kotur was just starting?
FKM: From the outset I wanted to build a viable business that could really function in the US market, and I had every confidence that brilliantly-made, unusual bags could get us there. There was nobody in the market that was really focusing on minaudières and clutches. Short term, I just wanted to focus on creating a brilliantly made product. If you can do that, you’re off to a good start.
HKT.com: Was co-founding Tory Burch a defining moment in your life? And how does it help you grow your business later on?
FKM: Working with Tory was most definitely a defining moment. She’s a very close friend and I saw working with her as an opportunity to use my past experience in design in a new way. Being involved with a business that had such a strong point of view and big ambitions from the outset was incredibly inspiring.
HKT.com: You chose to focus on making clutches, how important is picking a niche?
FKM: I think it’s vital to find an opportunity in the market. You need to marry that with the resources to make it happen and a passion for the product. Without those three it’s not going to work.
HKT.com: What were some of the biggest hurdles you had to go through?
FKM: The biggest hurdle we had to face was dealing with the financial crisis in 2008. We had to focus closely on our inventory to weather the storm. But at the same time, it gave way to new opportunities. A tough market encouraged us to really work together with our key clients to turn a bad thing into good, and we’re still benefitting from the ideas and relationships we forged then.
Another hurdle is dealing with growth. You need to plan ahead for it and be prepared to deal with it later – that’s both a commitment and a risk.
A personal hurdle is managing both the business and creative sides. It’s certainly a challenge – you have to become a master of all trades quickly – and you make a few mistakes along the way. But in some ways, ignorance is good as if you knew what lay in store you might not take it on to begin with!
HKT.com: Can you share some tips for people who don’t have an impressive design background like yours,?
FKM:You should always design with a point of view in mind. I want to say something with our bags. Style is only style if it’s relevant to you.
HKT.com: And how did you put the brand name out there?
FKM: Having a little bit of grassroots support early on was extremely helpful, and our relationship with Hollywood has been vital. Tilda Swinton was our very first customer and the second person was Drew Barrymore, who went into Scoop NYC and bought a bag.
Key retailers played a big part in getting our message out there, and when it came to press it was really all down to the support of a few people and the power of word of mouth. That’s how we made our way to the red carpet, plus, we were producing a product that really worked for those events.
