Your Cart is Empty
In the heart of Wellington’s prestigious Old Bank Arcade, one of the city’s most loved women’s shoe stores has been quietly operating since 2003.
Owned by Samara Collins, I Love Paris has established a unique position in the New Zealand footwear sector. Fashion retail runs deep in Samara’s family. Her mother, Ava, opened the first I Love Paris store in Dunedin in 1989, at a time when the ‘Dunedin look’ was at the forefront of New Zealand fashion.
Recognising a gap in the market, Ava began curating collections from leading Australasian makers including Mr. Christian (Sydney), Tony Bianco (Melbourne), and Minnie Cooper (Auckland). Over the years, her stores became an iconic part of Dunedin’s fashion landscape.
That instinct for style and selection reaches back another generation, with Samara’s grandmother serving as fashion buyer for Dunedin’s DIC department store for many years.
From the age of nine, Samara accompanied Ava on buying trips, later ‘graduating’ from her apprenticeship with her first solo selection from the Camper range. Her training was further shaped through visits to factories and boutiques in Italy, Spain and Portugal gaining a firsthand connection with the heartbeat of the industry.
Today, Samara continues the family business, bringing a contemporary eye to each season’s selection while maintaining established connections with the Melbourne heart of Australasian fashion, and with leading shoemakers in Italy, Spain, Portugal and beyond.
“The most exciting part of the business is the bi-annual shoe fair, narrowing down thousands of designs into each season’s unique I Love Paris selection. But the most rewarding part is sharing that passion with our customers — both local and those who return to Wellington to visit us.”