In a fiercely competitive market, Saben has managed to carve out a cult-like customer base, largely due to the fact Jacobson has thought of every little detail each bag could need.
“There’s nothing frivolous about my design process,” she told news.com.au.
“It’s really much more. There’s a purpose to every element. I’m always thinking about, ‘How is this product being worn? How is this being used? Where is it going? Who’s the person who’s wearing it?’
Roanne Jacobson is the mastermind behind New Zealand bag brand Saben.
“I want each piece to have the ability to be worn it multiple ways. I want the bag to really work for somebody, and that’s just always been my way.”
It’s this tenacity and attention to detail, qualities that have seeped into every buckle and stitch, that have earned Saben such a loyal fanbase since the brand was launched in 2002 from Jacobson’s parents’ garage – and ultimately landed it on the radar of David Jones.
The opportunity arose from a chance encounter at Auckland Airport when a buyer for the department store happened to be passing by Saben’s pop-up store.
Initially the brand only launched in David Jones’ Wellington store, but has recently expanded to Australia and is now in 19 different locations.
“It was just awesome when Wellington went off. Within the first week of trading, we had sold three times as much as any other brand in the whole of the handbag department,” Jacobson explained.
“Now we’re at all their key locations, which is just so exciting for me as I was born in Australia.
“It’s crazy to think about when you consider where the brand started, as something I was tottering away at in my parents garage.”
Saben was started in Jacobson's parents' garage and is now stocked in David Jones stores across Australia. Photo / 123RF
Saben recently released its “The Muse” collection, a range inspired by Jacobson’s grandmother Sarah Saben, who is also the namesake of the brand.
It features items “filled with elegance and style” that have been passed down through the family’s generations – and of course, Jacobson’s signature attention to detail.
“I don’t scrimp when I am designing. None of my bags are like those high-street or designer brands [which] take every functional feature out, so it’s only about the leather on the outside,” she explained.
“You know, when you open the bag and it’s just an empty bucket and you’re like, ‘Well, that’s not going to help me. Where’s my phone going to go? And my lipstick?’
“I don’t want to have to scrounge in my bag. I want to be purposeful about opening my bag and know where I’m gonna find my tablet or, you know, whatever it is I am looking for.
“You’ve gotta be able to find what you need and feel like you’re actually put together, you know?”
Many shoppers can attest to the brand’s quality. A Facebook group dedicated to buying, selling and swapping Saben bags has 23,000 members, with people from locales as far-reaching as Canada and the UK using it to get their hands on a second-hand item.
Shoppers can attest to Saben’s signature quality, with almost 23,000 customers having joined a dedicated fan group. Photo / @georgiiapemberton
The community is one of Jacobson’s proudest brand milestones.
“We’ve never had anything to do with it, we don’t even have access to it, but it’s really nice,” she said.
“That’s our base, it’s who we are. Those members are what build us, and that’s who we respect and honour.
“I love seeing how my pieces are shifting around the world. They’re going to Canada and they’re coming back to Australia, or they’re living in Australia, living in the UK. It’s just really, really nice.”
