The story of ba&sh is a story of friendship: Barbara & Sharon were childhood best friends who came together with a shared love of fashion and a mutual dream to work together. Discover more about this iconic female founder duo – the ba & sh behind our brand – below.

On founding ba&sh.

Barbara: Sharon and I had been best friends for a long time and in 2003, when we both just had our second child each, we started talking more seriously about doing something together. We both had other careers before – I was in PR, and Sharon was a lawyer, but we realized we had a common dream: we wanted to bring our dream wardrobe to life, and we also wanted to create something together and work together every day… and voila! Ba&sh was born.  

On designing the collections.

Sharon: We are always thinking about our next collection and inspired constantly by daily life, travel, our team, art, film and more. But specifically, ahead of each season we gather our design team at our home in Ibiza and spend a dedicated creative time there, to really envision the next collection and what we hope to achieve. We have been doing this “creative retreat” for years and believe it’s crucial to get away and free our minds to imagine the best for our collections. We then produce pieces wherever we can find the best suppliers for our needs – whether it’s silk or cashmere or denim

On the ba&sh style.

Barbara: Our aesthetic is always evolving as we grow and experience new inspirations, but the foundation is always an effortless French sexiness, a confident femininity. 

On the ba&sh woman.

Sharon: We realized that the most important thing is to design for real women: women like us who work, have children, travel, move around a lot. We notice current trends and incorporate them when it still fits our aesthetic, but ultimately design each piece to make women feel comfortable yet still beautiful and feminine… no itchy fabrics, too-tight shapes, etc. We create ideal clothes for women to move and live in. 

On how to build the ideal French wardrobe.

Barbara: All French women have their foundation pieces that they mix and match to keep things simple, and they invest in iconic accessories. I think a classic blazer, a midi dress, well fitted jeans, a silk blouse, chic ankle boots and a beautiful bag are important foundation pieces. At Ba&sh we also love pieces that show a bit of shoulder or back for that subtle sexy effect.  


On advice for entrepreneurs.

Sharon: Seek advice from experts but always follow your intuition and trust your gut. We’ve always had an innate sense of what is authentic to us and our brand, and tried to follow that no matter what!

Some favorite ba&sh memories from the last few years… 

The grand opening of our Nolita experiential boutique (September 2018).

Our charity t-shirt with all profits donated to Women for Women International & Women Safe (November 2019).

The launch of our iconic Teddy bag in London (November 2019).

Discover Barbara & Sharon’s Favorites