 Saben Teams-Up with The Warehouse
(New Zealand) - April 2010
Roanne Jacobson, architect of the Saben brand, has built a strong reputation for unique and luxurious fashion handbags over the past decade. Now, she’s teamed-up with New Zealand’s largest retailer to produce a diffusion line of accessories, Saben Says, which will sit alongside Republic Revolution and Rachel in The Warehouse’s top 25 stores as part of its ‘Design for Everyone’ initiative.
FINZ caught-up with the Auckland-based designer to discuss the mechanics of this new collaboration, her return to the helm of Saben and 10 years in business ...
If you’re thinking that you haven’t seen Jacobson out on the fashion circuit for a while, you’d be right. She spent much of the recession tucked-up at home with sons Jack (4) and Adam (2), returning to work in mid-2009, after a year-long hiatus.
Saben may not have grown in her absence, but it did remain constant in the face of a universal credit crunch – something Jacobson attributes to the fact that women, while loath to splash-out on entire new outfits, were still spending money on accessories to dress-up their existing wardrobes. The support of a great team and enduring appeal of her designs, widely considered well thought-out investment pieces, also factored in the equation.
“In some ways it feels like years since I made my exit, but I’m starting to see the light,” she says, laughing. “It was a real blessing. I was ready to come back to work when I did and felt completely reinvigorated. We went straight into opportunity mode and are just starting to see the results now – our partnership with The Warehouse being one of them.”
The international trend towards designer collaborations with mass market retailers – (think Karl Lagerfeld for H&M or Alexander McQueen for Target) – and the benefits of such unions were not lost on Jacobson, who was already entertaining similar ideas when The Warehouse first made its approach. While Saben Says was 12 months in the making, things moved fast once both parties were fully committed to the project.
“As a designer, you always want to make use of the skills you have and present what you’re doing to a different market. There is a huge benefit in being able to sell to more people and raise the profile of the brand,” she says.
The design direction for Saben Says sits firmly with Jacobson. But, when it comes to manufacturing, she’s able to utilise the extensive supplier network developed by The Warehouse– travelling offshore twice a year to present her ideas to affiliated factories and check samples.
“I couldn’t have done it any other way. Saben is already all-consuming and I have two small children at home,” she admits. “Working in this manner allows me to focus on what I love doing, which is design. I leave all of the shipping and logistics in the hands of the team at The Warehouse.”
In the leap from artisan pieces to mass merchandise, certain learning curves have been involved. For Jacobson, shorter timeframes posed the biggest challenge. “With luxury products, you put your heart and soul into every piece. But, there’s a big difference in designing a $700 bag and a $70 bag. You have to work a lot faster and be more spontaneous.”
The initial collection for The Warehouse was largely based on ‘gut feeling’ and Jacobson’s handwriting is apparent across the retro-70s and punk designs. As the retailer gathers information about what’s selling and which styles are working in different regions, the predilections of her new audience will be revealed, providing reference points for the next range. In the meantime, she has no apprehensions about differentiating the two brands in terms of design.
“Saben is about longevity and making a statement with style, while Saben Says is all about having fun. The big price-tag isn’t there, so we can take risks and be more experimental,” she says.
With these distinctions spelt out, the new label has received a positive response from existing Saben stockists, which total 50 stores nationwide. However, it does raise the question of whether a diffusion line is lucrative for everyone involved?
“It’s got to be profitable, otherwise we wouldn’t do it. The diffusion line is wonderful and will help put our profile through the roof, which can only be good. But, the core part of my business is still Saben and we’re planning new ventures around the brand. This collaboration has really motivated us to keep pushing further,” says Jacobson.
“We want our customers to be really excited about what we do. Our first priority is always New Zealand and Australia is second. We’re still building that market and exploring other areas to expand overseas. With everything we do, we do it to make the business stronger.”
After a decade in the industry, Jacobson is able to reflect on the hard road travelled with good humour. Having studied fine arts here and abroad, she was tending bar in New York when her creative talents turned to accessories. Crafting handbags out of items sourced from the backstreets of Manhattan’s garment district, her early attempts were admittedly a disaster. But, she returned to New Zealand in 1999, with some designs in mind and an inkling of a brand.
“Saben is my grandmother’s maiden name and it was a way of acknowledging the tremendous impact that she had on my ideas about fashion,” she says.
“Some of my earliest memories are of her dressing table in South Africa, where she sat and did her make-up every morning, and her huge walk-in wardrobe, where she’d get dressed in the truest sense of the word. I learned that it’s the finishing touches that complete the look – the right shoes, bag and accessories.”
In the early days, Jacobson encountered roadblocks at every turn – the general consensus being that she was mad to try and produce luxury leather goods in New Zealand at a time when the required manufacturing infrastructure had all but migrated offshore. But, she persevered, first struggling to find a skilled leatherworker and machinist.
“I went from working by myself in my parents’ garage to having a team and my own premises. I had to climb slowly up the ladder, rung-by-rung. I didn’t really understand business or what needed to be achieved, so I had to do it all slowly,” she says.
So, what advice does Jacobson have for aspiring designers?
“Keep your ears open, because lots of opportunities present themselves without you actually hearing them. There may be good things on the horizon, but you won’t know unless you listen carefully.”
Author: Mapihi Opai
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