Sass & Bide have shuttered their operations and withdrawn from Myer stores.
The label described the move as a ‘reinvention’ in an announcement shared on Instagram Stories on Thursday.
‘Reinvention in progress,’ the notice began, before continuing: ‘It’s never too late to reinvent yourself.’
‘That’s why we’re excited to share some big news about Sass & Bide. At the end of January, our standalone stores and Myer concessions will close.’
The brand, who has found fans in A-listers like Beyonce, Rihanna, Madonna, and Kim Kardashian, continued the notice with news that even the online store will soon cease trade, but promised a comeback after a period of restoration.
‘We’ll still be available to shop online until the end of February. Then we’ll be taking a little break there, too,’ they continued.
Sass & Bide have shuttered their operations and withdrawn from Myer stores. The label described the move as a ‘reinvention’ in an announcement shared on Instagram Stories on Thursday. Model Miranda Kerr is pictured walking for the brand in 2010
The brand continued the notice with news that even the online store will soon cease trade, but promised a comeback after a period of restoration
‘While we’re offline, we’ll be re-imagining what Sass & Bide can and should look like. The direction may be new, but a free-spirited and distinctly Australian attitude is at the heart of who we are, and that will never change.
‘We know this change may come as a surprise. But at Sass & Bide. we’ve never been one for following the rules.
‘It’s not goodbye. It’s see you soon.’
The news follows the brand closing 10 stores across the country in late 2024
The brand has been at the forefront of women’s designer fashion for 25 years.
The stores impacted included Bondi, Paddington, Miranda and Chadstone in New South Wales, Rundle Street in South Australia, Doncaster and Emporium in Victoria, Karrinyup in Western Australia and Newmarket in New Zealand.
Only a selected few remain open – including one in Victoria, one in WA and two in Queensland.
Sass & Bide managing director Paula Mackenzie confirmed the news in October 2024.
The brand has found fans in A-listers like Beyonce, Rihanna, Madonna, and Kim Kardashian. Beyonce is pictured wearing a Sass & Bide dress in 2009
Best friends Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton launched the brand in 1999. Pictured is a runway look from Sass & Bide in 2022
‘We will be offering all available support to them and will offer redeployment, where possible, for our store team members,’ she told Rag Trader.
‘These decisions were not taken lightly but they are necessary to ensure the business is repositioned for growth and is sustainable into the future.’
The brand also reduced support office roles, though an exact number hasn’t been revealed.
Best friends Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton launched the brand in 1999.
In September 2013 the two co-founders handed the business over to Myer who bought it for $72.3 million.
At the time Middleton told Vogue Australia it was a joint decision to leave the brand that they built up from a London market stall.
‘It was an instinctive decision that we both felt and we’ve always based our larger decisions in the business on intuition,’ she said.
Clarke added: ‘We came together, we’re leaving together. We just felt that was the perfect cycle.’
