Sarah-Jane Clarke is an Australian designer and one of the founders of Sass & bide. She went to St Aidan's Anglican Girls School,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in 1992 and then continued her study at

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

to be an accountant. In 2010, Clarke was awarded Australian winners of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award. Clarke and Heidi Middleton started their fashion business with a stall of their own designs at 1999

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Portobello Road Market Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is ...

. Later that year, both of them returned to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and launched their label Sass & bide which on 2008 was sold across in 30 countries. At the initial phase of their business, Clark and Middleton borrowed $70,000 to start their label in

Double Bay Double Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipality of ...

. Clarke was mainly in charge of finances and marketing, while Middleton was working on the design. Prior to ready-to-wear product, they mainly produced jeans and denim as their first collection for Sass & bide. In 2014, Clarke left Sass & Bide after the company was being sold to one of the biggest Australian retailers, Myer. After four years of hiatus from fashion world, Clarke came back to establish her new label, Sarah-Jane Clarke, in 2018. This new label was dedicated for luxurious travel collection and produced in Australia, with some contribution from artisans around the world. Clarke was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of her significant service to the fashion industry, and to charitable organisations. She married an architect, Daniel Baffsky, and had three children: Bo, Arky and Ziggy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Sarah-Jane Australian fashion designers Australian women fashion designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Australia Australian women company founders Australian company founders