Heidi Middleton

Sarah-Jane 'Sass' Clarke (b. 1974) and Heidi 'Bide' Middleton (b. 1971) are the founders of the fashion label sass and bide. The women met in Brisbane in 1992, Clarke having studied business and Middleton graphic design. A few years later, living in London, they began their fashion retail career selling customized jeans at Portobello Road markets. Returning to Australia in 1999, they established a tiny sass and bide outlet with a $70 000 loan, manning market stalls on the weekends to bring in extra income. With the launch of their skintight and super-low-slung jeans, their business skyrocketed and in 2001 they showed at Australian Fashion Week. After meeting Sarah Jessica Parker, who wore their clothes on Sex and the City, they made their international debut at London Fashion Week in 2003. Powering through numerous pregnancies as well as serious illness on Middleton's part, the close friends have since shown their collections regularly in New York, positioned their label in some 200 stores around the world and secured their place on the BRW list of Australia's richest people under forty.