This year iconic Australian womenswear label Sambag will celebrate 10 years in the retail space.
Launched by creative director Sam Wagner in 1997, the brand had humble beginnings at Sydney’s Paddington Markets.
Wagner sold her designs at the weekend markets and at parties she held in her home.
Initially, the range consisted exclusively of handbags, starting with three main shapes: a satin shopper, a metallic shoulder bag and a mini crocodile leather bag.
April 2005 marked the opening of Sambag’s first retail store in Sydney’s Woollahra, where Wagner still lives.
The store launched with a large range of shoes, handbags and a small collection of luxurious cashmere.
In 2006, Wagner set her sights on the Melbourne market, opening her first Victorian store in Prahran East.
Following the opening of Sambag’s first boutique on Woollahra’s busy Edgecliff Road, Wagner decided it was integral to the brand’s marketing campaign to create concepts for window installations that stopped traffic.
In 2014, Sambag opened four new boutiques in Doncaster, VIC, Indooroopilly, QLD and Macquarie and Miranda in NSW.
2014 also saw a complete revamp of Sambag’s online space, expanding the business with a multi-functional platform.
Since 2005, Wagner has grown her empire to include 12 bricks and mortar stores and one online boutique.
To celebrate Sambag’s achievement in the retail space, Wagner will work with Sambag’s merchandising director to recreate Sambag’s most iconic window displays from the last 10 years in Sambag boutiques across the country.