Sarah-Jane Clarke on taking the long road back from sass & bide

Since being at the centre of Australia’s most high-profile fashion deal, sass & bide co-founder Sarah-Jane Clarke has been on many private journeys but with her travel-inspired brand, she is now returning to the runway on her own terms.

In 2011, sass & bide was snatched from the David Jones family of designers by department store rival Myer, who purchased 65 per cent of the brand for $42.5 million. Two years later the remaining 35 per cent was purchased by Myer for $30 million, and Clarke and co-founder Heidi Middleton happily drifted away from Australian fashion’s front lines.

Designer Sarah-Jane Clarke (right) with model Magnolia Maymuru wearing Sarah Jane pieces at David Jones, Sydney.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Now Clarke returns to David Jones, taking part in the store’s spring season launch tonight in Sydney, with her eponymous label Sarah-Jane Clarke sharing the runway with Matteau, Toni Maticevski and Bianca Spender.

“It’s quite different to what it was like in my twenties,” says Clarke, who started sass & bide at London’s Portobello Market with Middleton in 1999. “It did seem like we were after world domination back then. Now I’m moving at a gentler pace.”

The relaxed Sarah-Jane Clarke range is a lifetime of experience away from sass & bide’s bum-clutching denim, rats leggings and sequinned vests worn by Beyonce, Madonna, Rihanna and Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City. Clarke started her label in 2018, focusing on slow fashion pieces inspired by travel and distributed online and in resort boutiques.

Step back in time. Sarah-Jane Clark (L) and Heidi Middleton during sass & bide’s heyday arrive at the David Jones Tahitian Summer Collection Launch at the David Jones Sydney store on August 9, 2006.Credit: Getty

“It’s been a very, very slow chug along with a different brand ethos,” Clarke says. “With sass & bide we were focused on newness. Now I’m producing two seasons a year of pieces that are multitaskers and easy to wear. There’s still the dopamine rush from great colours and beautiful fabric, but the joy can be experienced in different ways.”

That joy is captured in flamenco-style silk-linen trousers subdued by a biscuit palette, powder blue blazers with sharp shoulders that soften into a baggy silhouette and whimsical tunics trimmed with ostrich feathers.

Since sending the first pieces out from her Watsons Bay studio, Clarke has been in discussions with Bridget Veals, David Jones general manager of womenswear, but waited until the time felt right before returning to Australian fashion’s frontlines.

“Well, there was COVID-19, when a business inspired by travel was probably not a priority and I have also been busy with my family,” Clarke says. The designer has three children with her landscape architect husband Daniel Baffsky.

“Now, with people returning to travel it felt like the right time. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t feel strange coming back to David Jones. Strange, in the best possible way.”

Veals was understandably happy to wait.

“With our season inspired by optimism and possibility, Sarah-Jane Clarke’s collection is the perfect addition to our range as it centres around a love for discovering the world,” Veals says. “With borders reopening and so many people travelling again, this resort collection was made for chic dressing while travelling abroad.”

“It has also been fantastic to see Sarah’s evolution over the years, with her feminine designs and luxurious yet playful fabrications. We know our customers will be drawn to her brand.”

Many of those customers still have sass & bide rats stashed at the back of their wardrobe and have followed Clarke into her new venture as well as supporting Middleton’s slow fashion label Artclub, launched in 2018.

“This time feels different,” Clarke says. “My team are passionate about what goes into every garment but there are no expectations. I don’t feel the pressure to be anything to anyone. This is about the pure joy of creating garments.”

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