Sass and Bide

Sass & Bide is an Australian fashion label, internationally acclaimed and recognized for its quirkiness and over the top styling. It was founded by Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton in 1999.

The label launched with innovative and unique denim designs. Within two years, the collection expanded into seasonal ready-to-wear.

Evolving from an underground phenomenon in Australia, the label rapidly gained distribution in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Today, the collection offers two distinct ranges, sass & bide and s&b vie.

History

Brisbane born Sarah-Jane Clarke (a.k.a. Sass) and Heidi Middleton (a.k.a. Bide), the girls behind the Australian fashion label first met in 1992..

Upon returning from the stalls of Portobello Road markets London, the pair arrived in Sydney in 1999; filled with optimism, they aspired to start their own label. The primary choice of name 'folk' was unavailable and with less than 24 hours remaining until they lost their $100 deposit, the name "sass & bide" was coined by combining both of their nicknames.Sarah-Jane and Heidi set out to design the type of clothes they wanted to wear. A 'great fitting jean that sits super low and is super sexy' was created with stretch denim and a 2-inch zip. A unusually strong word-of-mouth sparked a demand for the particular pair of jeans.

A period of prosperity followed which saw the label released in the United Kingdom and the launch of its first ready-to-wear collection 'lady punk' at the Mercedes Australian Fashion Week. The collection was embraced by the Australian public.

In February of 2002 sass & bide had their first international show during London's Fashion Week where the collection "Thumbelina" was launched, following the success of their first launch in Australia. The London public also praised the brand.

With continual success at Mercedes Australian Fashion Week and London Fashion Week, the popularity of the label kept growing.

sass & bide went on to be the first Australian designers to be invited to show on schedule at New York Fashion Week where they have shown for 8 consecutive seasons.

By July of 2003 the label was stocked nationwide in David Jones in Australia, Bloomingdale's in the United States, Harrods and Selfridges in the United Kingdom. sass & bide currently have two flagship stores, one in Sydney and the other in Brisbane.

External links

* [http://www.sassandbide.com Official Website]