With the success of two brands behind her, young and enterprising Ung Yiu Lin is on her way to building her fashion empire with KLutched.

When Ung Yiu Lin was six years old, she could not understand why her mother had so many shoes — shoes of different colours, shapes and heels. Her mother told her, “You’ll understand when you’re older”… and boy, does she understand the concept of lots of shoes today. So much so that what seems to be the foundation block for Ung’s growing fashion empire of sorts is called SoesShoesShoes.

“It couldn’t be singular … when it comes to women and shoes, it never is,” says Ung, when asked about the origins of the quirky shoe brand name. “So when coming up with a name, I wanted to play on that relationship between a woman and her shoes.”

Ung is the founder, manager, producer and designer of ShoesShoesShoes, limited resortwear line Idylinn and the newly launched KLutched, which she runs with a partner.

One look at her and her passion for fashion is obvious. Where others wear their hearts on a sleeve, Ung wears hers in her tailored tube dress, funky shoes and well-coiffed hair. The 30-year-old’s enthusiasm is also obvious in her voice and bubbly mannerisms when she talks about the products and how she got started in the business of fashion.
 
Ung is actually a business major, with a master’s in finance and a degree in accounting finance — “You know how Asian parents are, right?” she quips with a twinkle in her eye — and actually worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for two years.

“I decided to get into management consulting because I thought it would give me a very broad sense of how to look at businesses from a top-level perspective, from a CEO’s point of view,” says Ung. “In those two years, I worked  with a lot of multinational corporations around the region because BCG gives you a real global-based network. Considering that I had just come out of university and was pretty much at junior level, I was already dealing with top-level management. The company really gave me the opportunity to work on a lot of big projects, and it taught me to be independent and really honed the way I think and analyse things.”

In reality, Ung already had the fashion world in her sights. While pursuing her finance degree in Australia, she went through a kind of fashion awakening. It was around 2000 and the Australian fashion scene was starting to fl ourish then.

Says Ung, “I have always had an interest in fashion, since my early teens. But I think what really groomed me was my time in Australia — people were making their own T-shirts, ripping them, putting studs and stuff on them… and the public was paying money for that sort of thing. It gave me the belief that if you came up with something on your own, the demand could be there
and there would be people who would appreciate what you were doing.

“While studying, I was doing part-time work in fashion retail. It was good for me to learn about the intricacies of retail and what customers were looking for. At the end of the day, I was going to go into a ‘proper job’. I knew I needed to get that on my CV, and I gave myself two years to learn as much as I could.”

So as planned, Ung left at the two-year mark and spent six months researching and networking.
She knew it was a whole different ball game and she had much to do, especially since she had no training or professional background whatsoever in fashion.

“I believed that I had to spend that time to do it properly and really look at the numbers. Of course, I had the vision, the concept, in my head but whether it could be executed was a whole diff erent thing, because the numbers have to work at the end of the day. Finally, I found the right production point to get the goods manufactured and to sell them at the price point I wanted, which was to fill a gap in the market,” explains Ung.

“Back then Malaysians either bought Vincci or designer shoes for thousands of dollars. Brands like Nine West were as mid-range as you can get, which can be quite expensive, about RM600-RM700. For a typical young Malaysian woman who earns RM2,000, she can’t really splurge on a pair of shoes a month and women in general do want to do that. Women want to be able to buy more than one pair of shoes a month and they don’t want to exactly wear that pair for a month and throw it away.

“So we found that ShoesShoesShoes fit in very well and we managed a kind of immediate success in the sense that people were just talking about it and bringing their friends in. I didn’t really spend time on marketing because I was really more worried about the production and operations. So it was great to have that kind of reception and the media was very supportive. Now we have two boutiques and an online store. We’re also quite selective about where we want to be placed … we’ve talked to The Gardens, Pavilion, even the new Fahrenheit 88 — we want to work together with landlords that see the value of our brand,not just as a small local brand but as a name they want to support and push in a big way. That, although we don’t come under the Melium, Club 21 groups, they’d take a risk with us. That’s why we opened in Bangsar Shopping Centre because we got a real prime lot. We’re not going to take some little nook on the sixth floor of a big mall and pay that sort of rate because we know the business wouldn’t survive, so we’re taking a very cautious approach to
expansion.”

Right now the plan is to grow the brand locally and internationally. Ung says the company also has wholesale agreements with companies overseas and is involved in OEM (original equipment manufacturing) work, where Ung designs and manufactures the shoes which are then stamped with another brand name. Apparently, there are shoe brands overseas that seem to like ShoesShoesShoes’ sense of design and manufacturing capabilities.

In between, Ung has also managed to launch a limited line of resortwear called Idylinn, with which she’s approaching high-end resorts,locally and overseas, to sell. The line is currently sold at ShoesShoesShoes boutiques.

With her shoes and line of resortwear pretty much able to thrive on their own for the moment, Ung is focusing on KLutched. She confesses that she’d always had a bag brand in the pipeline, but wanted to make sure that her other two brands were doing well first before proceeding to new projects.

“I don’t want to start something and then start something else halfway — then everything will be half done. I’m not like that,” she says matter-of-factly. “I’d always wanted to do my own bag brand. I’d basically gotten some samples done, networked with factories and all that. And then, sometime last year, a friend of mine mentioned that she’d always wanted to do bags. So I thought, I’m very tired of doing things alone — it’s actually very lonely and you tend to talk to yourself all the time,” Ung says with a laugh. “I was looking for the bag brand to have at least someone involved in the process. It’s a lot more fun. We started talking last year and it was early this month that we released the collection in Malaysia and Singapore, simultaneously.” (Ung’s partner prefers to remain out of the limelight due to her full-time job.)

“In Malaysia, KLutched is exclusively available through Melium’s M store and in Singapore through Retail Therapy — it’s like a cult multi-brand store at the new Mandarin Gallery. The buzz that we’ve been getting so far has been quite amazing. It’s a brand in its infancy. No one’s heard of us.

Bryan Boy — the famous fashion blogger US Vogue voted as one of the most infl uential bloggers in fashion and featured in its March power issue — spotted the bag during a dinner in KL and he was touching and admiring the bag. He wanted to buy the To Keo, the oversized satchel, so we ended up getting the gold one for him and he’s been toting that around KL, and during Singapore Fashion Week he was spotted in the front row with the bag on his lap. So it’s been getting a lot of publicity through that because it is taking the brand to an international status kind of immediately. People don’t know what brand it is yet but they’ve seen the bag. Just trying to work on linking that now,” Ung laughs.

“But we do see that this brand has the potential to take off internationally very quickly. Unlike shoes, bags are easier to sell because no sizing is involved. We already have a presence in two countries. Our bags have already been tested in Australia ... people love them so now it’s just us trying to find the right brands to represent us.

“We’ve got a Hollywood stylist in Los Angeles who’s got a few of our bag samples and she’s been testing them with people. We want KLutched to be a cult brand, so we’re hoping it’ll be spotted on, say, Cameron Diaz. Unfortunately in this day and age, we need to use this channel of marketing. Also, I think once you break into the American market and the London market, where we’re also starting to push our products, I think the brand will take off very quickly back home.”

DIRECTORY

SHOESSHOESSHOES
According to brand founder and designer Ung Yiu Lin, ShoesShoesShoes is “a little bit
quirky, a little bit fun, a little bit girly”. It’s basically about quality shoes, from your classic pumps to embellished evening heels, that are chic and affordable.

Apart from the boutiques, the shoes are available online at www.shoesshoesshoes.com.my. This has been designed for easy browsing, with the products categorised as Flats & Sandals, Heels, Platforms, Pumps & Peeps and Wedges, which you can sort by what’s new or price.

Great features include the fi tting and sizing tips as well as styling advice offered when
you click on a pair that catches your eye. For example, when I came across a white patent
bootie I was thinking of purchasing, the styling advice was that it was “perfect for day or night” and that I could “simply pair them with jeans and a gorgeous top”. As for the fi t, the website explained it was a smallish cut and that it was “recommended to go up a size for more room. Patent leather gives very quickly to become softer as you wear it”. Sizing tip was as follows: “For comparable sizing, take this pair in a Euro size 38 if you are a size 6.5 UK (or Euro 37) in Nine West.”

Delivery nationwide is free of charge. International deliveries are chargeable according to DHL Worldwide Express rates. ShoesShoesShoes boutiques are at:

● 31a 1st Floor, Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar Baru, KL Tel: (03) 2287 0608

● F110 1st Floor, West Wing
Bangsar Shopping Centre
Jalan Maarof, Tel: (03) 2095 5608

IDYLINN
While Ung is still in the process of securing consignment deals for Idylinn with luxury resorts, for example those in the Maldives, those looking for resortwear that has that casual glamour with a little luxe feel can find such pieces at Ung’s ShoesShoesShoes boutiques.

The clothes are designed on the free size concept. Says Ung, “We want to make it an easy fit for women of all sizes, so that no matter what the size, she looks elegant, she looks good. Our fabric is the non-clingy type, fl owy, Grecian inspired … one of our strong points is the beadwork and embellishments.”

KLUTCHED
This brand of bags is “a little bit more high-end, a little bit more edgy. Plus we’re playing with more expensive materials,” says Ung. The designer says that her focus was to make exotic skin bags accessible to women who dream of owning a well-made python bag but don’t earn that income. But of course, KLutched isn’t aiming to be a mass-produced brand but rather one with a bit of exclusivity. “We want to achieve that cult status,” she says. “We want to appeal to the growing set of customers who are now looking for new brands that aren’t just quite like any other. They want to feel just a little bit more special, knowing that the bag they’re toting is a limited edition.” Like ShoesShoesShoes, KLutched is also available online. klutched.com is a sleek, minimalist website off ering the brand’s inaugural collection, fromoversized clutches to chic satchels.

You can zoom in on any part of the product to have a look at the details. Delivery is free nationwide and according to DHL Worldwide Express rates for international orders. If you prefer a hands-on approach to KLutched shopping, its bags are available at:

● M Women
The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City Lingkaran Syed Putra, KL
Tel: (03) 2282 0093

● Retail Therapy
#02-22 Mandarin Gallery 333 Orchard Road, Singapore
Tel: (+65) 6733 5583

This article appeared in Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 814, July 12-18, 2010