California Apparel News

Charm and Luck built its 4-year-old business with flashy leather handbags dressed to the nines with glitzy hardware, studs and rhinestones. Now the company is extending its detailsaturated style into new markets with the launch of the moderately priced line Calla for Spring ’08, a new handbag brandnamed Filippa Sweet for Fall ’08, and a Charm and Luck shoe line for Spring ’08.

The Gardena, Calif.–based company was founded by sisters Christine and Jenny Syquia. Jenny Syquia designs Charm and Luck from her home in Sweden, and Christine Syquia heads the sales and operations in California. Charm and Luck is sold in more than 1,500 stores internationally. Wholesale price points range from $60 to $200.

Calla, which is an acronym for “Charm and Luck Los Angeles,” reinterprets Charm and Luck’s embellished flourishes in manmade materials and with moderate wholesale price points of $20 to $55. Filippa Sweet’s rustic, handcrafted woven, braided and pleated designs were inspired by Jenny Syquia’s Scandinavian residence, where she has lived for nearly 10 years. Filippa Sweet has been sold to stores such as Helen’s Handbags in New York and Via Moda locations in Florida. Wholesale prices range from $125 to $250. Though Filippa Sweet’s natural, romantic leather ventures in a polar opposite direction from Charm and Luck’s glam style, both lines share the sensibility of an excess of novelty.

“I think that there are a lot of companies who do very basic, functional bags well. We had our own vision and our own voice that we wanted to make heard. You can go into any department store and find a practical- looking tote. We never wanted to enter that arena,” Christine Syquia said.

To aid Charm and Luck in its expansion, the company hired a new design director to oversee all its brands. Samy Bekhit’s experience includes design duties at IsabellaFiore, Kate Spade and Sharif Design. The handcrafted look of Filippa Sweet was a perfect match for Bekhit’s artisan education, which includes being taught by his father to build bags by hand.

“I learned how to cut the bags, how to sew it, how to put the bags together,” said Bekhit, who constructed his first bag after school when he was 12 years old.

Charm and Luck’s shoe line includes a modest selection of key shoe shapes that coordinate with the bag line. One pair of peep-toe platform pumps is covered in gemstones similar to the stones seen on Charm and Luck’s handbags. “They’re feminine, they’re sexy, they’re attention grabbing—exactly who the Charm and Luck customer is,” Christine Syquia said.

As the company grows in its product offerings, Christine Syquia and Chief Marketing Officer Elizabeth Thomas have their eyes set on the global marketplace. “That’s one piece of the puzzle, to really grow our business,” Christine Syquia said. Charm and Luck has exhibited at the Premiere Classe trade show in Paris and plans to exhibit at trade shows in Asia this year. The company also has an in-store shop in Harvey Nichols’ Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, store. “As long as Samy and Jenny keep coming up with these great ideas and designs, we’re just going to take it and run with it,” Christine Syquia said.

For more information on Charm and Luck’s brands, call (866) 528-4180.—Rhea Cortado