Stand Alone Store - Sass & Bide

The high-end designer label stand-alone store I visited was Sass & Bide in The Strand Arcade. The store was designed by architect Kelvin Ho in collaboration with Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton – the designers behind the label. I found that the brand narrative was communicated very clearly in-store. Sass & Bide is perceived to be a sleek and modern yet edgy label, with a focus on bold prints and intricate embellishments, and this was certainly reflected through the look and feel of the store.

            

The first thing I noticed was how white, sleek and modern the store appeared. The space itself was quite small, however, the white interior cleverly made it appear very spacious, light and airy. There was a large, white, leafless tree sculpture which was the feature of the store, standing right in the centre. This gave the store a contemporary yet organic feel and contrasted with the smooth textures of the rest of the store. As Ho has stated ‘contrast and contradiction is a really important part of the Sass & Bide aesthetic.’ (Ho, 2011) There were two single racks of garments which encircled this tree, and a white pebble boarder which featured on the floor of the store further emphasised the importance of texture to the Sass & Bide aesthetic. The current season was designed with tribal notes and this why such nature inspired decor appears.

The bold, colourful Sass & Bide style hits the customer immediately, even before they enter the store, as the shop front windows feature an eye-popping array of light, bright baubles in fluorescent orange, neon yellow, electric blue, silver and white, all in varying sizes and textures. This feel is further carried into the store through the fun, neon pink ‘Sass & Bide’ labelling on the garment labels and swing tags which really stands out against the stark white background. The typography used is clean and modern and there is no evidence of promotions being advertised which enhances the high-end nature of the store. The shopping bags also convey the Sass & Bide aesthetic, featuring touches of neon yellow set amidst white and beige. A nice touch is the way that the same organic textured ribbon which attaches the swing tags to the garments is also used for the handles of the shopping bags.

A maximum of two garments of any one style feature on the racks and this, coupled with the pristine white wooden hangers, makes the customer keenly aware of the high-end nature of the label. Another small detail I noticed is that all the garment swing tags are left hanging out to minimise the customer handling of each garment and to keep each item in as perfect a condition as possible.

The sole sales assistant served to further tell the narrative of the brand, conveying the effortlessly sleek yet edgy aesthetic Sass & Bide is renowned for. She was wearing skinny, slightly washed out black denim jeans and a relaxed black knit, appearing fresh and approachable. Counter tables were sleek, white and circular, topped with glass. A particularly quirky, edgy touch was the white sunglasses stand which appeared to resemble a skeletal spine (another tribal inspired touch).

The Sass & Bide website very much remains in line with the in-store experience. It is predominantly white with bright splashes of colour usually appearing in the images of the garments, and the models which feature in the online look-books are striking fun, edgy poses. It is a very straightforward website to navigate because of the well laid out and sleek appearance. One thing I have noticed in both the Sass & Bide store and on the website is that the garments really do the talking. The stark white is certainly the best backdrop to allow the bold colours and rich embellishments tell the story of the season. Sass & Bide have also created a blog which maintains the aesthetic of the label as it features very minimal amounts of texts and each blog post usually contains one primary image or photograph which tells a story in itself.

The brand seems to engage very well with the media, agreeing to do interviews and feature in designer profiles. Their garments are frequently found in magazines and they do have a celebrity following which includes Sarah Jessica Parker (Turner 2011) and Rosie Huntington Whiteley (Sass & Bide 2012). Sass & Bide is widely acknowledged for their highly sought after denim, however, they have also made a name for themselves in the media for ‘the clash’ which features in their garments when unlikely combinations are paired together, for example silk georgette and neoprene. This clash is defined well by fashion editor Meenal Mistry who labels the Sass & Bide woman ‘an elegant and ladylike urban warrior’. (Mistry 2011) Clare Press has labelled Sass & Bide a ‘likely contender for the title of defining Australian Style.’ (Press 2010) Therefore it can be found that the label has settled into a highly respected place of the Australian fashion industry.

Thus, it can be found that the Sass & Bide label successfully conveys a clear brand narrative through the harmonious marriage of all the various components of the label’s branding. These components encompass details as small as the swing tags and as large as the label’s relationship with the media.

Bibliography

2011, Sara Jessica Parker and sass & bide designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton Reunite in Melbourne, The Telegraph, Sydney, viewed 20/04/2012, < http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/insider/sarah-jessica-parker-and-sass-bide-designers-sarah-jane-clarke-and-heidi-middleton-reunite-in-melbourne/story-e6frewt9-1226186569974>

Braithwaite, A., 2010, Aussie Label Turns Heads at London Fashion Week, WA Today, Perth, viewed 22/04/2012, < http://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/aussie-label-turns-heads-at-london-fashion-week-20100918-15gp7.html>

Cooper, M., 2011, Sass & Bide, Vogue, viewed 22/04/2012, < http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/sass-and-bide-biography>

Ho, K., ‘sass & bide by Kelvin ho for the strand arcade, Sydney’, Sass & Bide blog, weblog, Sydney, viewed 24/04/2012, <http://blog.sassandbide.com/?paged=15>

Mistry, M., 2011, Sass & Bide, Style.com, Conde Nast, viewed 22/04/2012, <http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2012RTW-SASSBIDE>

Mistry, M., 2011, Sass & Bide, Style.com, Conde Nast, viewed 22/04/2012, <http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/F2011RTW-SASSBIDE>

Press, C., 2010, Blanket Slate: Australian Style, The Monthly, viewed 21/04/2012, < http://www.themonthly.com.au/fashion-clare-press-blankett-slate-australian-style-2297>

Turner, T., 2011, Sass & Bide duo looking forward to Sarah Jessica Parker meeting, The Herald Sun, viewed 20/04/2012, < http://www.heraldsun.com.au/archives/old-news-pages/sass-bide-duo-looking-forward-to-sarah-jessica-parker-meeting/story-fn6pls5z-1226182500469>

Stand-Alone Store Recording Sheet - Sass & Bide

Brand Communication
Shop Front		1 x mannequin. Hanging baubles in various colours: Neon yellow Fluorescent orange Electric blue White Silver
Shop Interior	Decor	Huge white and beige leafless tree sculpture in centre of store. Skeletal spine sunglass holder. Counter consisted of three round, white, glass topped tables.
	Decoration	White pebble circular boarder on the floor of the store.
	Presentation of garments	2 single racks encompassing tree. No more than 2 of any 1 garment style on the floor. Tags out to minimise customer handling of garments. Garments really stand out against white store backdrop. Bright, bold embellishment and colours of clothes takes centre stage.
Staff Presentation		Effortless, edgy. Sales assistant wore: Washed black denim jeans Relaxed black knit Hair down Was friendly and approachable.
Labelling	Garment labels	White with neon pink font. Appeared at centre back of most garments.
	Swing tags	Matched garment labels. White with neon pink font and neon pink with white font. Attached to garment label using organic textured cream cotton ribbon. Very thick, smooth card used.
	Signage in-store	‘Sass & Bide’ store name appeared on a sign just outside the store. Signage matched both garment labels and swing tags: white background and neon pink text.
Packaging (shopping bags)		Bags matched colour scheme of store: predominantly white and beige (just like tree sculpture) with splashes of neon yellow. Ribbon used to create handles of bags was the same as that which was used to attach swing tags to garments (different widths of course).
Typography		Modern and sleek. Sans serif font. Consistency throughout all branding in terms of font, colour, scale etc.
Promotions		None evident in store – maintains high-end feel. Sale section available on website.
Website		White background – matches appearance of store. Neat and clean. Easy to navigate. Online shopping available in E-boutique. View collections. Edgy, fun poses of models in look books. Garments are left to do the talking with bold colour and texture.
Blog		Sleek and clean. Minimal text. Predominantly images/photographs. Usually only one image per entry. Ideas are conveyed through visuals. Very easy to navigate.
Media engagement		Well known for their signature denim. Renowned for unusual and beautiful embellishment. Instyle magazine ‘the sass & bide woman challenges convention. She walks to the beat of her own drum, and is a free spirited, creative soul who expresses herself through her clothing’. ‘Marrying various elements together’ – Meenal Mistry (style.com). ‘The Clash’ of elements. ‘Elegant and ladylike urban warrior’ -Meenal Mistry (style.com).