Even though US designer Laura Kofoid has yet to dip her toes in Cayman’s waters, the Chicago-based businesswoman has said images of the eye-catching hues of the ocean surrounding the islands inspired her latest handbag collection, Vivid Cayman.
“The connection is completely emotional right now and [through] pictures. I have never been to the Cayman Islands… thank you, COVID, and [I] will go soon,” Kofoid, co-founder and CEO of Laudi Vidni custom leather goods – which is individual spelt backwards – said in a Zoom interview with the Cayman Compass on Thursday.
This week, she unveiled her new made-to-order collection of leather bags in collaboration with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.
“When I began exploring the Cayman Islands, certainly the first thing I was struck by was the colour, but not just the colour of a typical Caribbean location. What I saw in the Cayman Islands, especially when I learned more about the Dream in Cayman campaign, when I saw more and more of the destination images, I realised there was a big depth of colour in the Cayman Islands. It wasn’t just the teal of the ocean. It was the warmth of the sunset,” Kofoid said.
The Vivid Cayman collection, she said, was her first brand collaboration and she believes the Cayman Islands was “the prefect fit” for her to launch a new branch of the business she founded 10 years ago with her friend and fellow Harvard Business School graduate Grace Tsao-Wu.
Tsao-Wu passed away in 2017, but the accessory label, according to its website, honours her memory by donating to the Grace Tsao-Wu Differencemaker Fellowship at One Million Degrees, an organisation that empowers low-income, community college students to succeed in school, life and work.
She said she was pleased to work with the Cayman Islands and create a tangible representation of Caymankind through the hues of the collection which features four distinct leather shades.
“As a luxury lifestyle destination synonymous with barefoot elegance, we are thrilled to unveil the ‘Vivid Cayman’ collection in partnership with Laudi Vidni,” Rosa Harris, Cayman Islands director of tourism, said in a press release on Friday.
“The colors selected for this collaboration truly capture the natural beauty of our picturesque destination, including our breathtaking sunsets, exotic wildlife and colorful coral reefs. We are thrilled to give our guests a stylish piece of Cayman to use in their everyday lives,” she said.
The collection, which is not yet available on island, can be custom-ordered through the Laudi Vidni website or purchased at the designer’s Chicago store.
The collection features four colour options, according to the website: the orange-red Alluring Cayman; caramel-hued Captivating Cayman; the ‘iconic’ teal Enchanting Cayman, inspired by the sea and the blue iguana; and deep metallic plum Mystical Cayman.
“We launched it in a leather called Mystical Cayman… that plum that kind of lives in the orchids, that lives behind the sunsets. It lives in the most delicate places, the caves, the underwater caves, the vibrancy of the spirit,” Kofoid said.
Kofoid said, as she learned more about Cayman, she found that it was more than a typical Caribbean island.
“Being from Chicago and thinking about where do I want to go in the winter? Where do I want to escape to? I thought the Cayman Islands was kind of all that,” she said.
Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan also lauded the collaboration with Cayman.
“The Cayman Islands is a favored vacation destination among well-travelled, fashion savvy visitors that have a penchant for the highest quality goods and services,” he said in the press release.
Kofoid said there are over 40 styles of bags in the collection, priced from US$50 to $900.
The styles range from a luggage tag to a duffel bag, to a tote, to a cross body.
The leathers used for Laudi Vidni, she said, are imported from an Italian tannery that abides by “all global sustainability requirements and is a leader in that space”.
She said she has not yet found a synthetic leather that is “worthy of luxury”.
The leathers used, she said, are a byproduct of the food industry and they are exceedingly durable.
She added the bags Laudi Vidni produces won’t end up in a landfill as each item is custom-ordered and not stocked in the store, which would create waste to be dumped, if unsold.
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