SANG A

With her namesake collection of exotic skin and special fabric handbags, handcrafted by artisans in Italy, Sang A makes her debut as a fashion accessories designer. Working with a modern, clean and rich palette, Sang A´s diverse creations could be considered examples of art itself.

As Sang A interprets her environment as a painter would a canvas, her fashion sense emanates naturally. Her personal style effortlessly combines uptown sophistication and downtown edge with a dose of avant-garde, to create a look that is uniquely individual and never trendy.

Fluid and precise is her design process. Sang A works comprehensively to select the perfect materials to bring her sketches to life; and consequently to sculpt the perfect form to complement the incredible fabrics she has access to.

Those first grade skins she reserves from the best French tanneries months in advance, and with a keen eye, Sang A advises what each bag requires in custom created hues. The results are not common blues, reds, blacks or greens but brilliant burnished compilations, like those that might be found in painter Ellsworth Kelly´s mammoth abstracts. Italian artisans then take the dyed skins and hand-stitch them into their final unique forms.

“My line has a unique design sense that doesn´t particularly follow trends.” Says Sang A, drawing inspiration from cinema as much as from street life. Imagining what people´s lives are like, and how they would be complimented by a certain style of bag, before she sits down with a sketchbook, educates her designs and lends them the functional maturity that separates her product from the rest.

Sang A´s first profession in her native Korea was that of performer, so it is no wonder she blurs the line between life and art. After studying and earning a degree in modern dance, Sang A acted in musicals. She eventually became a popular stage/television actress and singer, releasing three albums under the Samsung label.

But visual interpretation still tugged at her soul. So when her career took off, she began to design her own costumes and those of her band and backup singers & dancers.

After moving to New York in November 1998 from Seoul Korea, Sang A enrolled at Parsons School of Design and considered various careers in fashion. Working with stylists to get a feel for the industry eventually led her toward accessories design.

“Although I love all fashion, I love accessories in particular because they make the strongest statement about the individual wearing them” states Sang A in regards to her chosen field.

The exclusive collection ranges in price from $1,000 up to $15,000 for the “River“ strong, shiny alligator handbag, and is available at Neiman Marcus and Lane Crawford in the US and Asia.