As Sass & Bide prepare to open their first international store in New Zealand, we talk to one half of the label about friendship, business and denim.
Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton are besties and business partners, a mix that some say is a recipe for disaster. But the pair are proof that it can be done: the label they launched in 1999 is still going strong ... and so is their friendship.
Clarke and Middleton are the faces behind one of Australia's most famous fashion brands, Sass & Bide. Their aesthetic is so distinctive that one just has to say the words "Sass" or "Bide" to conjure up images of beading, ethnic trims, over-the-top styling; their eclectic mix of luxe, urban, tribal and glamour. Like Ksubi, another Australian label launched around the same time, Sass & Bide has come to define a certain Australian look, as well as influence international denim trends. Now they are set to open their first international store in Auckland.
"It made sense for our first international store to be close to home," explains Clarke on the phone from Sydney. "We thought we would try that market and see how smoothly it runs being outside of Australia. We felt like it was still a manageable market, being close to us. Also we get constant emails from girls saying 'please open a store!', so we thought, 'why not?"'
The Sydney-based pair met over 20 years ago through boyfriends, when Clarke was 18 and Middleton was about to turn 21. Clarke remembers initially being drawn to Middleton because of her shared love of fashion and "mischievous sprinkle".
"We used to get together most lunch hours and talk about what we were going to wear to the next party. We'd go over to each other's houses and adjust clothes, take skirts up ... We used to sew down the side of our Levi's to make them tighter and the perfect fit. We probably bonded over our love of fashion, and also the fact that we liked slightly different things to what everyone else was wearing," says Clarke.
That something slightly different is the unique Sass & Bide "look" which has won the brand customers from all over the world; they are clothes which speak to free-spirited, open-minded girls who love individuality and obscure beauty (well, that's how Clarke describes their typical Sass & Bide customer). The type of girl who drops into conversation that she's Sagittarius - as Clarke does as she explains their easygoing attitude to starting the business in 1999.
"We really just decided to do what we loved without analysing it too much. That was almost the beauty of it; we didn't overanalyse it. We had people saying 'don't do it, fashion's so tough', but we're both Sagittarians, so we're both quite spontaneous and positive. We both thought, 'why not, we have nothing to lose'."
That nothing to lose attitude paid off. After moving to London together to explore the world, the pair began selling their customised jeans on Portobello Rd (the 5cm zipper became their trademark), before returning to Sydney where they decided to officially launch the Sass & Bide label. Since then they have accumulated many celebrity fans (the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Madonna and Beyonce), designed a pair of jeans called "Rats" which, love them or hate them, have become so famous they've entered the fashion lexicon, sold a stake of their business (they still retain creative control), survived breast cancer (Middleton was diagnosed in 2007) and, something Clarke says they are most proud of, kept and maintained their relationship.
Beyond the large group of celebrity wearers, Sass & Bide has also developed a very loyal fanbase and brand culture. This loyalty extends to their stockists: Auckland's Superette boutique will continue to stock the Sass & Bide collections, after almost eight years of selling their clothes.
"The collections just keep going from strength to strength," says Superette co-owner Rickie Dee. "We feel the opening of their own store will only strengthen the Sass & Bide brand in New Zealand. We have a close relationship and we have always supported each other through growth."
Dee remembers that Sass & Bide's first Australian Fashion Week show was also Superette's first season of buying. "They stood out from all the other designers, along with Ksubi, with a collection that was bold, striking and something different to everyone else. I love that their collections are feminine - lots of beading - with hard-edged leather and denim."
The Sass & Bide Auckland store, which will be in the old Witchery building on Ponsonby Road, will have a fit-out designed by frequent collaborator Kelvin Ho. Each Sass & Bide store has a unique or obscure element - an object or a curiosity box for example - and Clarke says that they are currently sourcing the centre piece for the Auckland store. It will sell every Sass & Bide collection: the ready to wear, the younger S&B Vie range, denim, and accessories. The mainline collection which will be in store once it opens next week has a tribal feel to it, with an Edwardian reference.
"At that stage [when designing it] we were very much influenced by nature, so you'll see there is a lot of shell embellishment and textured collars. It's quite graphic, very black and white - which will suit you guys," says Clarke, referencing Kiwis' famed love of wearing black.
Despite working with each other every day, Clarke says they still try to find time for their friendship.
"It's always been our philosophy to put our friendship before the business; we're always very conscious of that."
Both have children who are around the same age, "so we always try to get them together, whether that's a Saturday or Sunday at the park. We do spend a lot of time together; we're all going on a trip to Provence soon. We do try to concentrate on our friendship outside of work, because at work we tend to just talk work. We've just been away together to London and Paris for six days - it was a work trip but we treated it as a bestie trip as well.
"We both respect each other's roles and what we both do here in the business. It's probably helped by the fact that Heidi does design whereas I do more the PR, marketing and brand side. We consult with each other on all aspects, but we do have quite separate roles," explains Clarke.
"For us that has really worked and we've played to our strengths. It's a perfectly balanced relationship."
* Sass & Bide, at 85 Ponsonby Road Rd, Ponsonby, opens on Wednesday 25 August.
