Otago Polytechnic Fashion Design graduate Jessie Wong continues to grab the spotlight.

Jessie has recently returned to her Wellington workshop having spent a couple of weeks in Europe, where she showed her 2018 Yu Mei bag collection at Paris Fashion Week, as well as attending a Milan trade show.

Jessie (24), who began making bags in her first year of Fashion Design, continued to explore the idea and arrived at the concept for her latest range while in her final year in 2014.

Aided by an AMP scholarship, she launched Yu Mei (her middle name) in 2015, promptly building on that impetus by showing at New Zealand Fashion Week the same year.

Fast-forward a couple of years: Jessie now employs 16 staff in her Wellington workroom, where her range of handbags and totes are crafted to fulfil two key philosophies – they need to be both functional and good looking.

Jessie’s Yu Mei bags are sold in more than 30 Australian stores, as well as a range of New Zealand retailers, including Ballantynes (Christchurch), Harper Inc (Hamilton) and Good as Gold and Ena (Wellington and Auckland).

For more on Jessie Wong's latest adventures, read Stuff's feature article.


Published on 2 Nov 2017

Orderdate: 2 Nov 2017
Expiry: 31 Mar 2018