Back In Business – Sax Fetish

Wayne Nicol, the store owner of Sax Fetish, is without a doubt in a more niche market. 

While the world of leather and kink is far more open and accessible, Wayne was one of the first on the scene in the 1990s. 

“I opened my store in Melbourne at the beginning of 1994, and so, at the end of 1999, my business bought what was Sax Leather and rebranded it as Sax Fetish,” he said. 

“In 1993, a lot of things were happening, such as the release of Pulp Fiction which made the concept of the gimp very much part of the vocabulary. 

“The world was becoming so much more liberal and experimental, and I saw a business opportunity, so I threw myself into the whirlwind of what was going on.” 

 During the pandemic, Wayne said he had seen an increase in online sales but also a change in the composition of sales. 

“We are selling a lot more toys and lubricants but a lot less of the garments because a lot of places people would have worn these have closed or been on hiatus,” he said. 

While it has been a tough few months, Wayne said when your business is your whole life’s work, you very become invested. 

“What we do is so unusual that we get to engage with amazing people who we would never have met,” he said. “It is the best thing to help someone new to the scene.”

Ph: 9331 6105

247 Oxford St, Darlinghurst

www.saxfetish.com