Christy Ng shoes and handbags
From a child turning into an adult, passion comes in many forms and it is something that we all have. For many, it drives us to pursue our dreams while some eventually forget along the way a reminder from the gruel fact that passion may not always pay the bill.
For Christy Ng however, it was her fuel more than just a dream. As a founder of a growing Malaysian-based fashion brand, passion was an accumulation of her family’s struggles and a determination to build something that could generate income even when she was not physically working.
We spoke to the founder of Christy Ng shoes and handbags to learn more about her fashion brand.
Balancing dreams with practicality
Image credit: Christy Ng
Christy Ng grew up in Kluang, a small town in Johor. Her father worked by going house to house washing air conditioners, carrying heavy buckets and chemicals under unpredictable weather conditions. On rainy days, there would be no work, and that meant no income for the family. She shared with TheSmartLocal Malaysia:
Money was hard to come by. When it rained, there was no income. That shaped how I think about business very early on.
Watching her father struggle planted an important seed in her mind. Ng knew from a young age that she wanted to create something scalable, something that could generate income even when she was not physically working. This shaped her look on life in her early formative days.
While growing up, Ng also found it difficult to afford comfortable shoes.
At 18, she developed corns from wearing cheap footwear, which became a defining moment that shaped her business purpose. “Owning a good pair of shoes was something I could not afford. That became a burning desire.”
Despite growing up with limited means, Christy developed a strong interest in shoes and handbags. Like many young women, she admired fashion, but she was often told that passion alone would not pay the bills and so she took the safe route and pursued higher education in biotechnology.
From pharmaceutical to fashion designer
Image credit: Christy Ng
Completing her education in biotechnology and later securing a job at a Swiss pharmaceutical company, her passion for shoes did not wither, instead it only grew stronger and the turning point happened during a holiday trip to Thailand.
“I was at a wholesale market and I purchased shoes which I found to be pretty”, she shared. When she returned home to KL, her friends began complimenting her and they asked her to buy it for them. And it was then when Ng realised she had an eye for style. “I knew then that people liked my taste and I had an eye for identifying designs people would like,” she added.
What began as casual purchases soon evolved into something bigger. Christy started travelling to Thailand frequently, selecting styles she believed friends turned customers in KL would appreciate. After buying them in bulk and wanting to expand her business, Ng sold them at car boot sales, pasar malam, and flea markets to gain more customers and generate higher income.
Image credit: Christy Ng
Ng shared that when Facebook was still new, she took another leap by posting photos of the shoes online, which, according to her, was something few sellers were doing at the time. To expand her shoe business, Ng took a different route and listed her phone number on Facebook. To her surprise, she began receiving non-stop calls from interested buyers.
Ng shared, advertising was cheap back then and no one else was doing it, and that was when things started to grow.
When The Smart Local Malaysia asked when did fame arise to her, Ng mentioned the fashion name is not what we see it to be today.
Image credit: Christy Ng via Facebook
What started as a wholesale shoe seller then turned into a local fashion brand where she created her very own shoes. Christy Ng’s brand did not grow overnight. It took 13 years, and started with just RM10,000 in capital from her living room. When it comes to the technical aspects of her fashion brand, unlike traditional fashion designers, Ng approaches fashion with a scientific mindset.
Her collections are based on consumer behaviour, purchasing patterns, and demand forecasting.
Because of my educational background, I see fashion more as a science than art. I only produce what customers want
Using business intelligence, her team analyses macro and micro trends, material preferences, and pricing to create collections that are both stylish and practical. The result is footwear and handbags that balance affordability, durability, and timeless appeal.
A self-taught fashion designer
Image credit: Christy Ng via website
Coming from a pharmaceutical background, Ng’s journey in the fashion industry wasn’t a walk in the park just because she had the passion for it. But that was the best part for her. One of the most defining aspects of Ng’s journey is that she is entirely self taught.
She shared with that from website building to product photography and design tools, she learned everything on her own:
I got WordPress with PayPal plugins, and learned from YouTube. No one taught me. I just figured it out.
For her, learning was never optional but it was essential for survival and earning a name in her fashion business.
She taught herself Photoshop, Adobe tools, and business fundamentals including accounting and tax. Over time, this self driven approach helped her shape a brand that blends creativity with data driven decisions.
“There is a misconception that you need a business degree, but having one does not mean you can run a business,” Ng explained. “The same goes for those who studied fashion but turned to another career path for survival. The ones who succeed are always learning every single day”.
Over the years, she learned everything from business operations to taxation, constantly solving problems and adapting to new challenges. “I always ask for help and I ask the right people such as my mentors for help,” she shared.
Today, the brand has expanded beyond Malaysia, offering classic designs with capsule collections inspired by global trends overseas in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. Her mission remains rooted in affordability and accessibility while growing her fashion brand across the globe.
A local fashion brand etching its name globally
For Christy Ng, her journey of not being able to afford a pair of good shoes to selling wholesale shoes in a pasar malam and then turning to become the founder of a local fashion brand is not just a journey of growth to generating an income, but rather building a name from scratch.
It reminds us that we all need to start from somewhere and it does not matter where, so as long as yourself through with learning and being passionate enough to get to where you desire to be.
Cover image adapted from: Christy Ng