Designer duo do dacks and specs for summer

SYDNEY:It's the two-inch pigeonhole that just won't go away.

Since the release of their infamously low-inched zipper jeans in 1999, Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton - the co-founders of womenswear label sass & bide - have all but been dubbed the denim dynamos.

Now with a regular ready-to-wear collection under their belt and two new product launches lined up for next season, the duo are finally set to put a zip on the denimwear-only stereotype.

As part of their spring/summer 2007 campaign, Clarke and Middleton have collaborated with two leading Australian manufacturers on a range of sunglasses and a luxurious, 50-piece lingerie collection.

The latter, a joint venture between sass and bide and intimate apparel giant Lovable, is set to launch exclusively through David Jones stores, lingerie boutiques and the label's namesake outlets in Sydney and Brisbane in September. Priced from $29 to $120, it includes bras, camisoles, g-strings and briefs made in plush fabrications such as delicate spot lace, velvet rouleau and patterned jersey.

Alongside the release of sass & bide for Lovabale, Clarke and Middleton are also preparing for the launch of their first eyewear line in October. Created in collaboration with Australian optical producer blur optix, the range includes 10 acetate and 2 metal models with oversized frames, aviators and retro sports styles featuring throughout.

Blur optix director Joshua Matta said the range's point of difference was its attention to quality and detail; Italian mazzuchelli acetate and nickel-free metal have been used to construct the frames.

Colours will include deep evergreen, Yves Klein blue, plush red, butterscotch, black and select styles will feature scattered splashes of crystal. The product model, colour and size is lasered into the inner temple surface to ensure longevity and style, Matta said.

"It was most important that each model be of unsurpassed superiority and the value to be immediately noticeable. Quality is never compromised by cost and our goal is to offer the best optical product on the market."
Handcrafted in Italy and offering 100% UVA, UVB and UVC protection, the sunglasses will be priced from $379 to $399.

By Assia Benmedjdoub