After nearly a decade building JEMMA into a multi-million dollar handbag business in the United States, Singaporean founder Joanna Lau brings the brand back to where it all began. The New York-based label officially launched in Singapore on August 17 with a focus on the EMMA collection. Fans can head to a pop-up on Level 2 of Tang Plaza along Orchard Road until September 30, 2026. Here’s what to expect.
What to expect at the TANGS pop-up
The Orchard Road pop-up showcases the EMMA collection across multiple sizes, colours, and finishes, with JEMMA’s broader range of work, travel, and everyday bags also available to order. A dedicated content space allows visitors to style and pack an EMMA with their own daily essentials, set against a curated tabletop backdrop designed for social content.
The bag comes in four sizes: the EMMA MINI for essentials, the EMMA 32 for tablets, the EMMA 37 for laptops up to 14 inches, and the EMMA 39 for laptops up to 16 inches.
Additionally, Joanna Lau will host two Meet the Founder sessions at the space: on August 25 from 12pm to 2pm and August 29 from 3pm to 5pm.
The Singapore launch is backed by a new JEMMA warehouse in Changi to support local fulfilment, with additional pop-ups already planned for later in 2026.
Lau, who now runs the brand from New York while raising three-year-old twin boys, has described the homecoming as a personal milestone and a potential gateway for broader regional expansion.
“I want to build a community around women who carry a lot, face more than anyone may realise, and still keep going,” Lau said. “Bringing JEMMA to Singapore is an opportunity to share that with the women I grew up around.”
About the brand
Lau founded JEMMA in 2016 after leaving a career in finance, driven by a frustration she experienced firsthand: the absence of a work bag that was both genuinely functional and elegantly designed. Luxury handbags offered polish but lacked practicality and traditional work bags handled the load but fell short on aesthetics. Using her own savings and with no fashion industry background or outside investment, she built the business from the ground up—covering product development, manufacturing, inventory, cash flow, and customer acquisition herself.
Interestingly, the brand’s name is personal using a combination of Joanna and her sister Emma.
The brand’s signature product, the EMMA work bag, became a turning point when it went viral on TikTok, connecting with working women who needed a bag built around the reality of their daily lives. Crafted from Italian-tannery leather, EMMA features a structured silhouette with a highly organised interior—including a suitcase attachment sleeve, convertible straps, and a removable pocket that converts into a clutch.
