2. Origin of the brand
1992
Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton met
in college and became close friends over
their shared love of re-creating vintage
pieces into their own style.
1999
• They started Sass & Bide. The name
comes from their nicknames for
eachother.
• ‘Sass’ is Heidi’s nickname for Sarah and
‘Bidey’ is Sarah’s nickname for Heidi.
• With a $70,000 loan from a friend, they
took off for England to try their luck
selling their quirky, customised three-
quarter-length jeans at London's
Portobello Road markets.

3. Origin of the brand
2001
• With the launch of their skintight and super-
low-slung jeans, their business skyrocketed.
• They debuted at Australian Fashion Week.
2003
• After meeting Sarah Jessica Parker, who wore
their clothes on Sex and the City, they made
their international debut at London Fashion
Week.
• Clarke and Middleton sold 50% of sass & bide to
past owners of the Mimco accessories chain,
Daniel Besen and David Briskin, with Briskin
taking up the role as chief executive.
2011
• Australian department store chain, Myer
purchased a 65% stake in the label for AU $42.2
million.

4. Brand ideals
• The sense of free-spirited confidence &
contradiction that defines their personal
sense of style.
• Inspired by the strangely wonderful. Their
collections have a deliberately mixed
aesthetic that draws on a myriad of cultures.
• Sass & bide will open its first international
flagship store on New York’s Broome Street in
two weeks.
• The label currently has 20 Australian
boutiques and 20 concessions in Myer
department stores.

5. “We are very excited to be opening our first flagship store in New York on
Broome Street, set to open early November 2013. We want to provide our
loyal followers an intimate shopping experience, to immerse themselves into
the Sass & Bide brand. For Heidi and I this is a realization of a very big
dream… It’s the cherry on top!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_omjvXTRFY
U.S. Expansion

6. Peculiarities
• They are apart of the Ethical Fashion Initiative - a
joint body of the United Nations and World
Trade Organization - in a long-term bag-making
project committed to empowering the women
of East Africa.
• For their first project, design duo Sarah-Jane
Clarke and Heidi Middleton created a limited-
edition shopper and clutch, produced from
sustainably sourced materials that were then
transformed by local African artisans.
• “Each bag employs around 100 women. Some
will do the beading, some will do the weaving –
every community has their skill,” Clarke told
Vogue Australia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg_wpH-Q00Y

7. Brand touch-points
• Expansion into the U.S. market
• Social Media campaigns using Coco Rocha & Suki Waterhouse
• Switching from London Fashion Week to NYFW
• Man Repeller

10. Brand touch-points
• The social media campaign, which marks the
launch of the label's e-tail site in America
• Using popular American model, Coco Rocha,
24, take over the label's social media
accounts for five days from January 28.
• Posting shots of her Sass & Bide outfits on-
the-go - check out our exclusive video.

12. Brand architecture

13. Brand Extensions
Made with love in Africa

14. Advertisement campaigns

15. Greaty 180

16. The Future of Now

17. Sing, Brother

18. Sources
http://www.sassandbide.com/the-story/
http://billabout.com/at-home-by-the-fire-with-sass-bides-
heidi-middleton/
http://www.harpersbazaar.com.au/news/fashion-
buzz/2011/9/qa-with-sass-bide/
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/03/aussie-label-trying-to-
make-it-in-america.html
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/columns/phong-
luu/TMG9825187/Coco-Rocha-gets-social-for-new-Sass-and-
Bide-campaign.html
http://www.eonline.com/news/457816/sass-bide-makes-
new-york-fashion-week-runway-return-watch-the-video
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/03/aussie-label-trying-to-
make-it-in-america.html