PARIS — Thai designer Fundao Baesakul has a radical view on why her namesake leather goods brand has to be a success.
“If I stopped the brand, it would mean I’m throwing my name away,” she told WWD.
So far, that’s not what she’s done.
Since its launch in 2020, the brand has been growing exponentially in its home country, opening four stores in Bangkok’s prominent malls, including one in Iconsiam and a flagship in Central Embassy. The brand also has one address in the Megabangna regional shopping complex next to the Thai capital’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A graduate in banking and finance in Bangkok, Baesakul went to Milan to study fashion management but made the leap to design by pursuing bag making at Arsutoria Milano. After cutting her teeth at Prada and Maison Margiela, she returned to Thailand to launch Fundao.
From the get-go her intention was to create “an innovative Thai craft venture that is not outdated,” taking a waste-not, want-not approach of using materials down to the last scrap — here in the shape of small leather goods. Sunglasses, hair accessories and footwear have since also come into the mix.
The Jamu bag model from Fundao.
Courtesy
Baesakul symbolized the interconnection of humans and nature through an interlaced motif interpreted as leather lacing or metal hardware and applied to contemporary shapes that take cues from the Eiffel Tower’s silhouette, the curve of a capybara’s back or even the form of Baesakul’s pet corgi.
Over the yearly average she’s infused traditional leaf-weaving techniques, revisited using leather strips, or even playing with experimental materials like dried water hyacinths, a quick-growing floating weed that can be used in similar ways to raffia.
Local consumers have given the brand a warm reception. Sales in 2024 reached 10 million Thai baht, or $305,000, a figure that is significant when compared to an average monthly salary of around 15,600 Thai baht, or $475, according to 2025 data from Thailand’s National Statistical Office.
The founder credits the success of the brand to having “solved the pain point for young professionals who want to be stylish” while offering them solid value with leathers sourced from Japan, tanned in Thailand using low-chemical dyes and bags crafted in ateliers in the Bangkok region.
For 2025, the goal is to double the business and sales in its “incredibly supportive” home market has been “stronger than anticipated.”
But the fuel for further growth lies abroad, where Fundao has another ace up its sleeve: its price range.
Prices range from 7,900 Thai baht, or $240 at current exchange rates, for a north-south tote just large enough for an iPhone and up to 13,900 Thai baht, or $425, for the largest Ava tote.
In Baesakul’s opinion, that hits a sweet spot that reinforces the brand’s premium position at home but also puts it in the running on the global market with the likes of smartly priced competitors like France’s Polène or Coach in the U.S.
Foreign visitors to Thailand are already catching onto the brand, with Middle Eastern consumers accounting for more than 35 percent of in-store sales. E-commerce orders have followed, with destinations including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and most European countries.
Now Baesakul feels it’s time to further refine its global efforts, particularly in the U.S., where it has been present since 2023 through New York multibrand concept store Flying Solo.
In late August, Fundao staged a coffee kiosk outside the store on Broome Street to introduce its Ava Weave design and sustainable approach and hosted an all-white late summer picnic in Central Park with influencers.
Both events have garnered “very positive feedback, which has also helped drive more offline sales,” Baesakul said. “We plan to continue creating more activations in the U.S. to see where this journey takes us.”
