SIR. AND THE ART OF LONGEVITY
In 2014, two 24 year old friends set out to build a fashion label without formal design training. Nikki Campbell had studied communications and marketing, while Sophie Coote had studied finance before pursuing styling. Neither had been trained in garment construction.
Their idea was straightforward. To create the minimal wardrobe essentials they struggled to find in Australia, using natural fabrics and relaxed silhouettes that could move between coastal and urban settings.
Twelve years later, SIR. has grown into an internationally stocked contemporary fashion label, with retail partnerships, standalone stores and a presence in major overseas markets.
Its latest Resort campaign, photographed on the Greek island of Hydra, arrives as the founders extend their international ambitions through their first independent Paris showroom.
THE BEGINNING
Campbell and Coote met in Sydney, where they shared a home in Tamarama. Both had worked in different areas of the fashion industry, but their educational backgrounds were outside traditional fashion design.
Coote had studied commerce and finance at the University of Sydney before spending time in Los Angeles pursuing styling. Campbell studied communications and marketing and gained experience working with fashion brands.
Together, they identified an opportunity in the Australian market for elevated everyday pieces, particularly linen separates that could be worn beyond a holiday wardrobe.
The name SIR. stands for Separates, Intimates and Ready to Wear, but its meaning extended beyond the product categories. The founders were interested in the contrast between masculine and feminine dressing, an idea that continues to influence their approach to styling and design.
The pair self funded the business and launched in 2014, developing their early collections in close collaboration with manufacturers in Bali.
Working directly with garment makers gave them an opportunity to learn production firsthand. They visited factories regularly, developing their understanding of pattern cutting, fittings and construction.
Rather than arriving with an established design process, they developed one through experience.
Their earliest collections concentrated on linen and natural fabrics in a predominantly black and white palette, with the intention of creating versatile pieces suited to the Australian lifestyle.
BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
SIR. launched at a time when Instagram was becoming an increasingly influential platform for independent fashion labels.
Three months before releasing their first collection, Campbell and Coote began building an audience online. By launch, they had attracted approximately 10,000 followers.
According to the founders, the initial response allowed them to recover their investment almost immediately.
Their original plan was to operate entirely online, avoiding the costs associated with traditional retail.
For the first four years, SIR. grew without paid marketing, relying on Instagram's organic reach, product gifting and word of mouth.
Coote has since spoken about the importance of sending pieces to women who genuinely connected with the brand, even when they might not wear them until months later.
The approach helped establish visibility beyond traditional advertising, but the founders also invested in campaign imagery at a scale unusual for a young label.
In a conversation with Sarah Harris for Selfridges, Coote recalled an early shoot in Kangaroo Valley featuring four muses and a substantial creative production team.
She identified the campaign as a turning point in establishing the brand's visual identity, with the images helping communicate a lifestyle and point of view beyond the garments themselves.
That emphasis on imagery became an important part of how SIR. introduced itself to customers and international buyers.
FROM AUSTRALIA TO THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET
Although SIR. began as a direct to consumer business, wholesale opportunities emerged earlier than the founders had anticipated.
In 2018, Barneys New York became the label's first international wholesale account, bringing its Australian approach to resortwear into the American luxury market.
The partnership marked a significant shift for a business that had originally planned to sell exclusively through its own website.
By 2019, SIR. had also attracted attention from international retailers including Matches.
As the business expanded, Campbell and Coote began developing a more selective approach to wholesale distribution.
In a 2024 interview with Fashionista, Campbell explained that the brand had declined certain opportunities to avoid expanding too quickly or appearing in retail environments that did not suit its positioning.
The founders placed importance on the other designers stocked alongside SIR., how collections were presented and whether a retailer understood the brand.
By that stage, Mytheresa and Moda Operandi had become significant wholesale partners, with exclusive capsules providing opportunities to understand different international customers.
The label also tested overseas retail markets through temporary stores in New York and Los Angeles. Rather than relying on a single route to market, SIR. developed a combination of direct online sales, international wholesale and physical retail.
THE SHIFT IN DESIGN DIRECTION
SIR.'s earliest collections were defined by minimal separates, natural fabrics and a predominantly monochromatic palette.
As the label developed, the offering became more varied. Exclusive prints, silk, cotton, tailoring and occasionwear expanded the wardrobe beyond the linen pieces that had established its reputation.
The founders have described a gradual shift toward more structured and androgynous designs, bringing masculine influences into collections previously associated with feminine resortwear.
Fabric development also became a greater focus. In their 2024 Fashionista interview, Campbell and Coote discussed working with suppliers in China, Vietnam and Turkey, as well as a partnership with Australian producer Good Earth Cotton.
The expansion of manufacturing and materials reflected a business operating at a different scale from its original Bali production model.
Recent collections demonstrate that broader design approach. For Autumn/Winter 2026, the founders drew inspiration from the Left Bank of Paris during the 1990s, incorporating tailoring, lace detailing and knitwear.
The Bastille blazer and miniskirt, Montparnasse top and Marius knit vest illustrate how SIR. now approaches everyday dressing through a wider selection of garments and fabrications.
BUILDING A RETAIL BUSINESS
Physical retail was not part of Campbell and Coote's original plan. Their initial focus on ecommerce reflected the opportunities available to emerging labels during Instagram's early growth, when an online audience could be converted into customers without a conventional store network.
That strategy changed as the business expanded. SIR. established a flagship in Bondi Beach and subsequently developed a broader Australian retail presence.
Its arrival at David Jones marked another commercial milestone. The department store introduced SIR. as part of its Australian designer offering, making the label available online and in selected locations including Sydney's Elizabeth Street store, Chadstone in Melbourne, QueensPlaza in Brisbane and Claremont in Perth.
The collection included the brand's signature linen pieces, prints, occasion dresses and separates. Physical stores have also given the founders an opportunity to develop the customer experience beyond online shopping.
Speaking at a Selfridges event, Coote discussed the importance of allowing customers to experience the quality and construction of garments in person, particularly in a retail environment increasingly dominated by digital content.
The brand has explored this approach through store concepts and experiences that encourage customers to engage with SIR. beyond making a purchase.
THE ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN
Hydra, Greece. SIR. Resort 2027
SIR.'s latest anniversary campaign was photographed by Marie Deteneuille on the Greek island of Hydra.
The campaign features a cast including Tish Weinstock, Malgosia Bela, Maya Stepper, Ylang Messingual and longtime collaborator Tahnee Atkinson.
Atkinson's involvement carries a connection to the label's earliest years. The founders worked with the Australian model and photographer Pierre Toussaint during SIR.'s initial development, establishing creative relationships that contributed to its early visual identity.
The new campaign brings together established collaborators and women from different creative backgrounds, including models, artists and cultural figures.
Hydra provides a familiar setting for SIR.'s approach to campaign imagery. Mediterranean architecture, coastal surroundings and natural light.
While the location recalls the travel inspired imagery associated with the brand, the casting places greater emphasis on the individuals who have contributed to its identity over time.
The campaign has been presented as a celebration of the label's first decade and its continuing development, although SIR.'s actual tenth anniversary fell in 2024.
TIME IN PARIS
In September 2026, Campbell and Coote brought SIR. to Paris for its first independent showroom, operating from September 30 to October 6 on Rue de Thorigny.
For a label whose international business has grown through wholesale partnerships, the showroom represents an opportunity to present collections directly to buyers and industry contacts during Paris Fashion Week.
Unlike an appearance within a multi brand showroom, an independent space allows SIR. greater control over how its collections and brand identity are experienced.
The move follows years of international retail development, from its first major American stockist to partnerships with established luxury platforms.
It also reflects the founders' increasingly deliberate approach to expansion. In recent interviews, Campbell and Coote have spoken about becoming more selective as the business has grown, recognising that taking on too many opportunities can place pressure on a team and dilute its focus.
What began as a self funded venture between two friends has become one of Australia's recognised contemporary fashion labels. The Paris showroom marks another stage in that development, but the decisions that follow will determine how SIR. establishes itself in the international market over the next decade.
With love (and frankness),
Bea x
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