Samantha Thavasa is a Japanese luxury fashion house founded in 1994 by Kazumasa Terada. The label is known primarily for its

handbag A handbag, commonly known as a purse or pocketbook in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. Purse, handbag or pouch The term "purse" originally referred to a small bag for holding coins. In many ...

s popular among women in their twenties. Other accessory lines such as Samantha Thavasa Deluxe, Samantha Vega, Samantha Thavasa New York were created to meet different markets. The company was founded in 1994 by Kazumasa Terada, the current CEO and president. Its name is derived from the characters Samantha and Tabitha Stephens from the American sitcom series ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

''. The company has over 130 retail stores in Japan. In late 2006, Samantha Thavasa opened its first U.S. store in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Marketing

The company's marketing strategy is typified by its extensive utilization of Western celebrities and socialites in its advertising, although

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably ''Joint Security Area'' (2000); ''A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' ...

was used to promote its jewelry brand, Samantha Tiara. American singer

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

along with her sister

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, wh ...

and

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...

and

Nicky Hilton Nicholai Olivia Rothschild ( Hilton, October 5, 1983) is an American socialite, fashion designer and model. She is a member of the Hilton family by birth, and a member of the Rothschild family through her marriage to James Rothschild, a grands ...

have been in advertising campaigns.

Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

and Monica Cruz and

Tinsley Mortimer Tinsley Randolph Mortimer (née Mercer; born August 11, 1975) is an American socialite and television personality. She is known for starring in the reality television series ''High Society'' and ''The Real Housewives of New York City''. Early l ...

had handbag lines with the company. Singer and actress

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

also endorsed the brand in 2009. In 2011,

Taylor Momsen Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and Jen ...

also became a member of Samantha Thavasa Muse. In 2012, South Korean girl group After School promoted the summer collection line with single "Lady Luck", in a commercial. In 2013, Momsen appeared in a television commercial for Samantha Vega handbags along with one of the Japanese idol

Tomomi Itano is a Japanese recording artist, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2011 she debuted solo with a single titled " Dear J", which wa ...

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

. In June 2012, Australian model

Miranda Kerr Miranda May Kerr (; born 20 April 1983) is an Australian model and businesswoman. Kerr rose to prominence in 2007, as one of the Victoria's Secret Angels. Kerr was the first Australian Victoria's Secret model and also represented the Australia ...

signed a contract to become the latest celebrity muse, and launched a handbag line titled "Miranda Kerr for Samantha Thavasa Collection" in 2016. In September 2013, Samantha Thavasa announced that girl group

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

would be the company's endorsement models. The girls wear Samantha Thavasa skinny jeans in various colors for television ads and for their eighth single "

Galaxy Supernova "Galaxy Supernova" is the eighth Japanese single by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation. It was included on the group's third Japanese studio album '' Love & Peace'' and was released as the second single from the album on September 18, 201 ...

", released on 18 September.

References

External links

*{{Official website, 1=http://www.samantha.co.jp Clothing brands of Japan Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Retail companies based in Tokyo Japanese companies established in 1994 Clothing companies established in 1994 Fashion accessory brands High fashion brands Japanese brands Clothing companies of Japan Retail companies of Japan Luxury brands Companies based in Tokyo