Tamara S. Bowens is an avid art collector, style icon, community activist, philanthropist, Harvard scholar and business executive. But she is perhaps best known for her latest contribution to the world of high fashion. Bowens has always had a passion for art and fashion. In 2010, equipped with 15 years of marketing experience, she co-founded BowensBergeron, a luxury design house producing limited edition handbags made from exotic woods. Bowens, along with her partner, Ray Bergeron, created the eponymous BowensBergeron with the vision of bridging the gap between fashion and art by creating hand-crafted handbags using the most exotic and visually stunning woods from around the globe. Through the use of exotic woods such as African wenge, English sycamore, South American rosewood, and African zebrawood, BowensBergeron s modern and sleek designs exquisitely showcase the natural grain, color and texture of each chosen wood, thereby creating true works of art that are fashionable, functional and visually stunning. Today, BowensBergeron handbags are must-have accessories for the elite, and desired by the most discerning tastemakers throughout the country.
Admiration for Bowens and her vision isn t limited to celebrities and socialites. BowensBergeron was recently selected by Mercedes-Benz USA to partner with world-renowned designer Naeem Kahn in a permanent installation at Lincoln Center for New York Fashion Week 2012 (Feb. 9 to 16). The installation will include a series of handbags designed to match the wood grain inside the Designo edition Mercedes-Benz alongside Khan s couture evening gowns.
Bowens was recently named a Style Maker by the American Craft Council in recognition of the advertising campaign she crafted for BowensBergeron. To further validate her company s position in the fashion business, Bowens and Bergeron will be honored on March 15, 2012, by Neiman Marcus and the National Black Arts Festival as rising emerging designers. As BowensBergeron continues to make a fresh and enduring impact on the fashion and art worlds, Bowens keeps her eye on the future. “[I m] trying to stay ahead of the design curve, to think of the next great product. In this business you have to innovate, innovate, innovate,” she says.
