RAVEN KAUFFMAN
Raised in an eighteenth-century stone home in Pennsylvania, Raven grew up surrounded by eclectic mixtures of antiquities, modern design, fine art and organic elements. Her parents, whose combined careers include historic preservation, fashion design, interior and garden design, enveloped Raven in a most unique mixture of organic luxury. They taught her the power—and the delight—of artfully creating a lifestyle that expresses one’s personality.
After graduating from Cornell University, Raven immersed herself in the New York fashion industry, where she worked as an executive in Public Relations for both Donna Karan and Gucci. The experience gave her invaluable expertise in the fashion business and helped to evolve her discerning and singular aesthetic: luxury fashion steeped with a deep respect for all things rare, vintage, and unexpected.
In 1998, Raven relocated to Los Angeles and into the fast lane of celebrity styling. After three years of dressing high profile clients for editorials, Television appearances and award shows and hosting several shows on the Style channel, Raven began a subtle shift into the world of private consulting for her clientele. She was sought after by some of the top names in Hollywood, from Angelina Jolie to Michael Douglas and high profile private clients.
As her clients special requests began to exceed the realm of what was available in the marketplace , Raven naturally began to design exclusive one of a kind items to fill their requests. It was while collaborating on the design a very special set of custom luggage from Botega Venetta that Raven realized her talent and passion for designing handbags. Soon after, Raven Kauffman Couture was born. Her first collection, METAMORPHOSIS was a limited edition of evening bags .
Unusual details such as hand embroidered Thai jewel beetle wings, vintage silk brocades and golden peacock feathers nestled under Art nouveau inspired metal grilles were just some of the details that led to an overwhelming response.