Lizandbetty is the collaborative Brisbane label merging high and low culture
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WAYAN PRESTON
WORDS BY CAIT EMMA BURKE
“Sometimes it seems as though it is harder to break through in our own country than it is to breach the fashion world overseas.”
When childhood friends Vissy Hoffie and Wayan Preston joined forces creatively, they knew they wanted to operate as a truly collaborative entity. With experience in the worlds of art, design and fashion, their resulting joint venture Lizandbetty “blurs the boundaries of art and design”, merging high and low culture to create a range of covetable accessories and slogan tees.
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Currently based in Brisbane, the duo connects with their community by hosting events with other creatives and not limiting the output of their label; they create images, objects, accessories and projects, all with the intention of bringing diverse audiences together. Below, they share their journey creating Lizandbetty and what they hope to see more of in the Australian fashion industry.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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We are Wayan Preston and Vissy Hoffie aka Lizandbetty, a collaborative entity. Our work blurs the boundaries of art and design, drawing from high and low cultures to produce images, objects, projects and promises that seek to bind together new audiences and diverse communities. We are currently operating in Meanjin, Brisbane where we invest in the capacity of local communities. Our fashion background stems from our cultural connections and what we absorb from the world around us.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
We are best friends and have bonded through fashion, music, culture, and art over our childhood and adulthood. We spent time travelling and living in London and New York taking it all in, admiring world-class creators and adopting the hustle mentality. After this, we decided to take the challenge of starting our own experimental process of creating together, which was more about playing and trying out ideas.
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What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time? How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
Lizandbetty began as a playground for us to experiment and have fun creatively whether that be in the form of art or design. It’s evolved with the focus to continue designing and crafting unique wearable objects that are keys to unlocking the rich fantasy worlds that are part of the everyday.
How would you describe Lizandbetty to someone who’s never seen it before?
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Lizandbetty reflects pop culture, high fashion, fine art and unique craft through functional objects that combine different media. The label is proudly representative of our cross-cultural heritage and POC identity while also drawing from history and the future to produce a variety of projects.
Where did the name come from?
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The name Lizandbetty is inspired by our own names and family as we both have Elizabeth as our middle names and family members that also have the nicknames Liz and Betty. It fit perfectly for us and we enjoy the way it makes people curious to find out more about the name with questions like ‘Who’s Liz and who’s Betty?’.
What are you most proud of in your work on your label?
The most exciting thing would have to be the IMA Gallery closing event for their open day. We hosted a super fun party with amazing local DJs, a spray tattooist doing custom designs and a pop-up of our latest drop at the time. We were very proud of this as it was such a great experience and we were able to build a deeper connection to the community.
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What do you wish you knew when you started?
Going into it, we knew if we wanted to take this seriously it would take a lot of dedication and time but I think in the beginning you don’t realise how many hats you have to wear as creative directors and founders of a label. We have had to become DIY masters of so many different areas that wouldn’t normally come to mind and it can be really challenging to do this all at once.
Who do you think is most exciting in local fashion right now?
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We are excited by so many but just to name a few Killjoy, Sexiaz Lingerie, Chantelle Lucyl, Wackie Ju, Evstolia Kova and Distal Phalanx brings an exciting new curation of designers locally and worldwide.
What about the local fashion industry needs to change?
It would be great to see more local fashion boutiques, fashion curators and stylists bringing on more local POC designers. Sometimes it seems as though it is harder to break through in our own country than it is to breach the fashion world overseas.
Go-to dinner party playlist?
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This is super difficult – we both love music and we DJ from time to time so our song selection is always evolving. Here are our top three go-to tracks for a dinner party at the moment: ‘February’ by John FM, ‘I Found My Smile Again’ by D’Angelo and ‘Summer Madness’ by Kool & The Gang.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
Some of Wayan’s favourite pieces include a recent piece from a Balinese designer called Riu which is a beautiful hand-embellished and crocheted sequin top, Marc Jacobs shorts are a super comfy staple and [she’s] loving Givenchy rubber wedges. Vissy’s favourites are the nunchucks bag by Asai [and] vintage and reworked pieces that she creates herself using craft techniques like embroidery and leather work. We both also love to wear items that we have created for Lizandbetty such as our puffy baby tees, snail belts and unreleased ties.
Explore Liz and Betty’s range here.
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