Edgy, urban denim and fierce party wear will be the signature of Sass & Bide. This designer fashion label is sought after with the young and chic, avoiding anything stuffy and formal, and going for finger-on-the-pulse, flamboyant and fun street style, inspired by vintage clothing and vibrant markets worldwide.

https://www.jeanwarehouse.com.au/ is definitely an inspiring rags to riches story, if a stall in London’s Portobello Market might be called rags (… it’s certainly the best end of the rag trade!), quickly progressing to regular shows at New York and London fashion weeks and making in onto Australia’s rich-list already in 2006.

Australian friends, Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke, traveled to London after their studies (Sarah- Jane, nicknamed Sass, qualified as a possible accountant, and Heidi, Known as Bide, was an art form director. They started selling customized jeans in Portobello market inside the late 1990’s and inspired with that success, returned to Sydney on 1999. Here they quickly collected a following and showed at Australian Fashion Week in 2001. By the the coming year these folks were prepared to show in the prestigious London Fashion Week.

Their international success really kicked off in 2002. They happened to be in New York and serendipitously coincided while using filming of some scenes from Sex within the City. Passing the set on the way to a scheduled appointment, they squeezed a security guard to feed on one with their distinctive denim jackets to a single in the stars. The star loved it, checked out their other designs and commissioned some one-off pieces for that show. This publicity propelled the label to stardom and from then until 2009, Sass & Bide showed at New York Fashion week to a devoted clientele of celebrities and young urban fashionistas. They only moved their catwalk show time for London during 2009 when Sarah-Jane was expecting her third child.

While it can be their embellished denim that originally made their name, (remember fondly the customized jeans which they started with?), they now have three lines S&B, Sass and Bide and Sass and Bide Denim, and so are aren’t afraid to play with hot colour and many bling. Their latest fall/winter 2011 collection is all eye-catching oranges and hot pinks, using a touch of citrus yellow the only real cooler note.

Where to acquire Sass & Bide designs? Their own boutiques are inside Australian cities, and Australian variety store Myers, recently bought shares inside the label and will be stocking them. The more prestigious stores in New York and London stock Sass & Bide, as well as the duo are planning a London stand-alone boutique for 2012. Some from the top online designer fashion stores also stock selected Sass & Bide pieces so consider them there, if ‘young and stylish’ describes your style.