Sarah-Jane Clarke

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 in 1992 and then continued her study at Queensland University of Technology to be an accountant.[1] 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's Portobello Road Market. Later that year, both of them returned to Sydney and launched their label Sass & Bide which on 2008 was sold across in 30 countries.[2] At the initial phase of their business, Clark and Middleton borrowed $70,000 to start their label in Double Bay. 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.[3]

In 2014, Clarke left Sass & Bide after the company was being sold to one of the biggest Australian retailers, Myer.[4] 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.[5][6]

Clarke was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of her significant service to the fashion industry, and to charitable organisations.[7] She married an architect, Daniel Baffsky, and has three children.[8]