What?
Betiko is my small, independent fashion label. I'm really just making clothes that I like to wear, out of fabrics that I love - but on a larger scale and selling them to women all over Australia.
The goal is and has always been, comfort. My idea of comfort, which is not just how the clothes feel on you, but how you feel in the clothes. It's about casual style, gorgeous fabric, and wearing what you want.
I wouldn't call the Betiko style edgy or alternative, but it's definitely not mainstream. I make most of the clothing in small runs or individually, and that allows me to easily adjust to different sizes, and it reduces wastage. Of course, it's more time consuming to do it this way, but also more sustainable.
Clothes for work, clothes for play. Definitely not formal, but not totally casual - somewhere in between. Lots of denim, linen, cotton, and rayon.
Why?
Betiko is a word from the Basque dialect of Spain, it means eternal or everlasting, it also sounds a bit like Betty Co - an earlier name for my business.
I love making clothes, sewing good, quality fabric into simple styles. Clothes that are designed and made to last many seasons. Sometimes I get a pair of pants back to repair, pants that have been worn solidly for years - and the customer just can't bear to let them go. It makes my day, what better compliment could you have?
Simply put, I want to provide women with clothes to express their own style, to mix and match, and to feel good in. These clothes should last and be worn until they're worn out. And I want to do it at a price that's affordable, but will still pay my bills and give me a little treat now and then.
Who?
My name is Betty and I design all and make all the Betiko range. I grew up with homemade clothes, my mother was a wicked seamstress, and I loved my double denim pantsuits and ricrac bound frilly dresses. Until I went to high school - and then I wouldn't be seen dead in them. I started making my own clothes in my late teens with a punk/mod aesthetic, but it was shortlived, as most of my twenties were spent in yuppy power suits.
Mass redundancies in the late '90s saw me out of the IT industry and setting up my own cafe in Gertrude st Fitzroy. It was pure joy being able to wear whatever I wanted. I loved shopping at op shops and adjusting or remaking the clothes to fit. Eventually, I found that I was better able to create the styles I wanted when I designed from scratch (although I still love a bit of upcycling when I have the time). Friends started ordering clothes from me, I set up a market stall, and off I went.
That was 2005. I sold my designs at markets for 12 years, fitting so many different people. I loved making a new design and then having the opportunity to see a range of different body types try it on, seeing what worked and what didn't. I've learned pattern-making, commercial manufacturing techniques, got industrial sewing machines, and a big beautiful sewing studio since then.
I'm lucky to get to markets now. I sell my clothes mainly online, and at Finki, an awesome independent design store in Melbourne. I live in the Noosa hinterland with my partner, two children, a good dog, an indifferent cat, and 8 chickens.
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| One of my all-time popular vests. A rough raw silk - it was lovely. |
The goal is and has always been, comfort. My idea of comfort, which is not just how the clothes feel on you, but how you feel in the clothes. It's about casual style, gorgeous fabric, and wearing what you want.
I wouldn't call the Betiko style edgy or alternative, but it's definitely not mainstream. I make most of the clothing in small runs or individually, and that allows me to easily adjust to different sizes, and it reduces wastage. Of course, it's more time consuming to do it this way, but also more sustainable.
Clothes for work, clothes for play. Definitely not formal, but not totally casual - somewhere in between. Lots of denim, linen, cotton, and rayon.
Why?
Betiko is a word from the Basque dialect of Spain, it means eternal or everlasting, it also sounds a bit like Betty Co - an earlier name for my business.
I love making clothes, sewing good, quality fabric into simple styles. Clothes that are designed and made to last many seasons. Sometimes I get a pair of pants back to repair, pants that have been worn solidly for years - and the customer just can't bear to let them go. It makes my day, what better compliment could you have?
Simply put, I want to provide women with clothes to express their own style, to mix and match, and to feel good in. These clothes should last and be worn until they're worn out. And I want to do it at a price that's affordable, but will still pay my bills and give me a little treat now and then.
Who?
My name is Betty and I design all and make all the Betiko range. I grew up with homemade clothes, my mother was a wicked seamstress, and I loved my double denim pantsuits and ricrac bound frilly dresses. Until I went to high school - and then I wouldn't be seen dead in them. I started making my own clothes in my late teens with a punk/mod aesthetic, but it was shortlived, as most of my twenties were spent in yuppy power suits.
 |
| Me. |
Mass redundancies in the late '90s saw me out of the IT industry and setting up my own cafe in Gertrude st Fitzroy. It was pure joy being able to wear whatever I wanted. I loved shopping at op shops and adjusting or remaking the clothes to fit. Eventually, I found that I was better able to create the styles I wanted when I designed from scratch (although I still love a bit of upcycling when I have the time). Friends started ordering clothes from me, I set up a market stall, and off I went.
That was 2005. I sold my designs at markets for 12 years, fitting so many different people. I loved making a new design and then having the opportunity to see a range of different body types try it on, seeing what worked and what didn't. I've learned pattern-making, commercial manufacturing techniques, got industrial sewing machines, and a big beautiful sewing studio since then.
I'm lucky to get to markets now. I sell my clothes mainly online, and at Finki, an awesome independent design store in Melbourne. I live in the Noosa hinterland with my partner, two children, a good dog, an indifferent cat, and 8 chickens.
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