Before it became a bag in itself, Save My Bag, an Italian brand developed by young Italian couple Stefano Agazzi and Valentina Azzia in 2013, was made for the sole purpose of protecting luxury handbags from harsh elements like, the rain or heat. But when Oprah and Sex and the City stylist Patricia Fields tell you to sport them as is, imperatively, you sport them as is. We had a quick chat with one-half of Save My Bag, Valentina Azzia, at their launch at Little White Box, SM Makati about their line of bags, which she claims to be “the lightest bag in the world.”
How did the brand Save My Bag start?
My husband and I wanted to create a bag to give to clients at an event. It’s was a very high-end event, very high end brands so the clients were going to be affluent. We decided to create a bag that was going to cover their designer handbags and they loved it. Women that own the best designer bags in the world, literally, went crazy for these bags so we decided to create a brand out of it in November 2013.
Initially, was it intended to be used as is?
We started with the idea of creating a luxury cover for a bag, to protect a designer bag while traveling or going to the beach, or whenever you needed to bring an extra pair of shoes. That’s where we started. The bag, in the end, evolved by being used in itself but every woman has a different way of carrying it.
Tell us a little about the material of the bag.
Poly-lycra is the material that we process internally in our company. Lycra is the material used in making full body suits. The idea is that this material is super light. Save My Bag is the lightest bag in the world. It weighs less than a bottle of water and, on the other hand, it is made of a very resistant material. As with bathing suits, it’s very elastic, so it carries a lot of weight—you can carry a little pooch inside.
It’s also washable. It’s very rare that you can wash a bag but Save My Bag can be put in the washing machine and you can put it through cold cycle and you’ll have a new bag every time.
What was your reaction when Oprah became a fan of Save My Bag?
We were very surprised. The bag is obviously appreciated at a very high level of clientele. It’s a very practical product. It’s really for the modern woman who works, who has children, who runs around all the time. We have a lot of models who use these bags. It’s very convenient to carry around and it’s very fashionable because of the colors; you can match it to any look.
How important is a bag to a woman?
A bag is everything. We love bags, we love collecting as many bags as we can. With Save My Bag, it’s like a dream come true because the bags are so affordable. The key idea is to have a bag that’s made in Italy but is still affordable. It’s not only having A BAG(?) that’s worth 2,000 or 3,000 dollars. It’s about having a bag designed that can work for every woman.
Save My Bag is available at Little White Box, SM Makati.