Tiffany Zhou and Tracy Zhong had high-flying jobs in banking and consulting services before launching their fashion business OLEADA in 2021, seeing a need for a handbag for modern-day professional women based on their own experiences.
Zhou and Zhong, both in their early 30s, studied and worked in Oxford, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris, and New York, flying across the world to meet their clients and partners. Aside from their hectic job schedules, they also blogged about fashion, fitness, and pastimes like scuba diving, windsurfing, and DJing.
After a mutual acquaintance met them in 2019, the duo quickly discovered they had a common daily struggle: finding the right work bag.
“Once upon a time, I was preparing to board a flight from New York to Hong Kong. After clearing security, I attempted to repack my laptop and other belongings into a tote bag. “I was going to carry my big tote when my strap snapped,” Zhou, a technology consultant at the time, says.
“That occurrence made me wonder: why can’t we find a handbag that is both robust and simple to carry in this day and age of cutting-edge technology?” she claims.
Zhong experienced similar frustrations. She used to shop at luxury handbag boutiques near her workplace when she worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong. However, she was unable to locate a bag large enough to hold her laptop, mobile phone, and all of the documents she needed to bring.
“Despite the fact that there are so many designer handbag companies on the market, there is still something lacking for professional women,” she explains.
The two decided to follow their dreams and co-founded OLEADA. The name comes from the Spanish term meaning ocean waves. “We feel the multidimensional contemporary lady, like ocean waves, is soft but furious, poised yet formidable,” Zhou explains.
Their brand has attracted not just venture capital investment, but also backing from Maye Musk, who is a model, a dietitian, an author, and mother to three children, including billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Musk collaborated with OLEADA on a limited-edition handbag line dubbed From Boardroom to Ballroom last fall. “Our cooperation with Maye began during New York Fashion Week in 2021,” Zhou explains. “We have an initiative called OLEADA Lounge, which brings together female personalities from various backgrounds to encourage one another via dialogues.”
Musk was one of the first speakers at Zhou’s event series in New York. Backpacks, totes, buckets, laptop sleeves, and card holders are all designed and manufactured by OLEADA. The goods are lightweight and come in a variety of vibrant and brilliant hues.
Zhou, the company’s creative director and a qualified engineer, describes her approach to design as “a science rather than an art.”
“To ‘design’ our bags, we employ Design Thinking, a set of strategic and practical techniques commonly used in the IT industry,” she explains. Zhou notes that they began by monitoring and shadowing experts to discover their demands, then produced prototypes to test, followed by small-batch production before releasing them on a wide scale to the market.
“Despite the fact that we are a new company, some of our lines have been revised three or four times to make them flawless and take care of all the subtleties that a modern lady need.”
Musk, a lover of the “engineering” component of the OLEADA bags, collaborated on three other designs of handbags with varied functions: the Waiva Bag is for business usage, the Coast Tote is for travel, and the Crescent bag is a night-out fun bag.
“This limited-edition collection intends to appeal to all settings a modern lady might meet in her everyday life: from the Boardroom to the Air,” Zhou explains. “Our cooperation with Maye began during New York Fashion Week in 2021,” Zhou explains. “We have an initiative called OLEADA Lounge, which brings together female personalities from various backgrounds to encourage one another via dialogues.”
OLEADA purses are available for purchase online and through e-commerce platforms, with costs ranging between $400 and $800.
Musk co-designed the Waiva Bag in Caviar pebbled leather, which retails for $795. The lightweight backpack can accommodate a 13-inch laptop and has a lock clasp for further security. The dazzling silver Echo Bag for evenings out costs $485 and comes with an adjustable strap. The Coast Tote, which is made of canvas and leather and costs $475, can accommodate a 15.6-inch laptop.
Our name, OLEADA, derives from the Spanish word for ocean waves. Like waves of the ocean, we believe each woman is a unique force of her own – gentle yet fierce, poised yet mighty, all at once. OLEADA is a brand born to empower modern women to live their lives fully and be the kind of force their hearts desire to be. Live as your heart desires.
At Truoosh, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. All product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to on our site, Truoosh may earn commission.
