Wrap-pant a hit
Newcastle Herald
Thursday March 31, 2011
THE runway show of Australian label Sass &Bide, with smacks of sequins, suede and silk,reaped instant industry acclaim at the openingnight of London Fashion Week last month.The creations of Sydney-based design duo Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton have for yearsbeen a staple of the illustrious British event, and in aterrace tucked behind Buckingham Palace Gardens,the label‚„s autumn/winter 2011 collection came to life.Long, fl owing fabrics were on display, along withcocktail dresses, high-waisted slim-lined pants andsleeveless tops.The label traded its signature black for colourfulbursts of rust and fushia. Earthy shades of mustard,terracotta and plum met loud chequered prints withfl ashes of bold red, tangerine and fluorescent melon.Clarke said the colours had a good response.Sass & Bide‚„s trademark fashion prints were onshow as were asymmetric, draped and oversizedsilhouettes, some knotted, belted, plaited and tied.‚œ‚œIt‚„s a collision of energy and culture and colour, alotof our favourite elements really in one collection,‚„‚„Middleton said in the lead-up to the show.‚œ‚œWe‚„ve brought in some new silhouettes and a lotofasymmetry and really taken some shapes andsilhouettes out of context and interpreting them innewways and a lot of the collection, the colours . . .were inspired by a recent trip to a village in France.‚„‚„Clarke describes the collection as ‚œ‚œan elegant andladylike urban warrior‚„‚„, inspired by the terracottawalls and buildings of the village they saw inProvence.The tall and elegant Middleton self-styled a focus oftheshow: a long fl owing ‚œ‚œwrap‚„‚„ skirt from behind andpants beneath a wrap at the front.‚œ‚œOur new signature piece of the collection is reallythis concept of a wrap-pant, so it‚„s a skirt and pantensemble,‚„‚„ she said, fl icking around the lightweightprinted fabric.Relaxed and smiling just minutes before the lightsand music began, Middleton and Clarke said they‚„re‚œ‚œgetting better‚„‚„ at organising shows and said thiswas their eighth in London - a market and stage theyconsider signifi cant.Britain is the brand‚„s second biggest market behindAustralia.‚œ‚œThis is where the label was really born, so for usLondon just feels like another creative home,‚„‚„ Clarkesaid.‚œ‚œWe really enjoy coming here; we fi nd it reallyinspiring and we just really love the whole culture andarts and individuality of the city.‚„‚„Middleton also confi rmed that long-awaited plansfor a London store will be realised within six months.‚œ‚œIt‚„s now at the front of the agenda, it‚„s number oneon our agenda for the year,‚„‚„ she said of a Londonshopfront.‚œ‚œWe just needed to get a few things out of the way,but now that‚„s at the forefront of the list and I reallythink it will happen in the next . . . we‚„ll get somethingin the next six months.‚„‚„The move will please international customers, whichinclude celebrity fans Sarah Jessica Parker, Madonnaand Beyonce.At the show a gleamingTwiggy sat front row andwas fi lled withpraise forthe Aussiedesigners.‚œ‚œToday‚„scollection isone of the bestI‚„ve seen for along time,‚„‚„ themodel-turnedactresssaid after theshow.‚œ‚œWhat‚„s great abouttheir designs is theyare impressive and newand fresh and they canbe worn. A lot of showsI see (the designs) lookgorgeous but I think ‚œyoucan‚„t wear that‚„.‚„‚„Store warsin fashionThe Australian store warstook an aggressive turnlast month with Myer‚„sannouncement that itwill acquire a 65 per cent,$42.25 million stake inDavid Jones‚„s star fashionperformer, the denim andready-to-wear brand Sass& Bide.The Myer deal includescontrol of Sass & Bide‚„s15 branded stores,wholesale operations andlong-term employmentcontracts over the currentowners, designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and HeidiMiddleton and fashionentrepreneurs DanielBesen and Sass & Bide chiefexecutive David Briskin,who bought a 50 per centstake in the business in2009.‚œ‚œ[Sass & Bide] will berun as an entity reporting[to the board], but withabsolute entrepreneurialindependence,‚„‚„ MyerCEO Bernie Brookes said,responding to speculationthat such a ‚œ‚œbig gulp‚„‚„ dealcan jeopardise a smallerbrand‚„s successful creativeformula.He said ways would befound, however, to ‚œ‚œstretch‚„‚„the brand, for example, into‚“perfumes and sunglasses‚„‚„.Briskin said boutiquesthat currently stock thebrand would not beaffected.Sass & Bide willbe rolled into aninitial 30 Myerstores after its lastselling season withDavid Jones. Myer‚„s fi rstrange, the one previewedin London, is expected inshops in July.Brisbane friends Clarkeand Middleton foundedSass & Bide in 1999, as ajeans stall in London‚„sPortobello markets. Back inSydney, their ultra-low-risejeans featuring the shortestfly-zip in fashion at thetime scored them globalrecognition.Sex and the City wardrobemanager Patricia Fieldcranked it up another notchby including a few Sass &Bides in the show.
© 2011 Newcastle Herald
