The Idea Behind the Brand

Hi there. Imke here.

I’ve always been a little bit unusual. I think a lot of women can say that. Women are unusual. We’re very exciting. We have a tonne of brilliant ideas, opinions, passions about everything from plankton to lipstick, we’re inventors, engineers, bakers. We are buddies, lovers, chair-makers, teachers, intelligent, eccentric, emotional and tough.

And most of the time, we’re goddamn hilarious. But for some reason, the world just doesn’t seem to care about any of that. The world just wants us to be sexy.

The idea of Tizz was thought up on a Saturday night last Summer. I was chilling alone in my sewing studio designing a couple of shirts for myself from an assortment of two really great prints. We’re talking space themed and small black Brachiosauruses.

Admittedly, being 24 years old at the time, the events of that weekend could have been slightly more sophisticated - but absolutely not as amusing. I'm sure of that. 

The textiles made me feel elevated and a little zany and I proceeded to wear the shirts the following week to the stuffy office job I was holding down to afford my own venture. I actually got a lot of compliments on them.

I knew that I wasn’t the only woman to like things that are considered offbeat or unexpected. I see these women all the time, whether they are obvious about it or not. On the streetcar reading slasher novels, skateboarding in polka dotted hotpants, the woman in a power suit walking under a flamingo pink umbrella, talking at lighting speed to her poodle. 

Like I said, we’re very exciting and we’re very multifaceted. And that’s where the idea of Tizz came in.

Shortly after my Saturday night stint, I called up my sister and pitched her my idea. She was just about to graduate with a Bachelor of Science with a focus on sustainability so we merged our brains eggs together and hatched Tizz. Undies and loungewear that make you say yay- with a spotlight on sustainable practices.

Our brand was created to fill a gap in the women's underwear industry.  We noticed that the women's undie business was lacking humor and fun with so many predictable prints on the market designed from cheap synthetic textiles. And most sustainable options or organic cotton underwear styles we're often very boring. A real snoozeroo. We wanted to design underwear that was as different and delightful as it was environmentally conscious and ethically produced.

Furthermore, we planned to go against the grain of fast fashion undergarments and the way they are pitched to us as consumers and more importantly, as women. 

Main stream media is a monster. Major brand marketers executives are incredibly skillful at persuading women to look and act a certain way. Sexy. At all times. I swear I’ve seen advertisements that make simple kitchen garbage bags look provocative, so as you have probably been witness to it- the underwear industry is only amplified. 

I often question if it is really necessary for undergarments to always be so hyper-sexualised. Realistically, underwear is an everyday requirement- I mean most days we wear underwear. Like we wear socks, yet we don’t seem to be bombarded with the expectation of wearing come-hither socks and acting seductively in our sock feet everyday, do we?

And yes, of course lingerie is by tradition sexy but it doesn't have to be just that. Intimates can be lively and upbeat too. Enthusiastic if you will.

I suppose what irks me the most is that the media is so focused on wanting women to be a certain way that everything magical we already are falls to the wayside.

So, our brand is designed to inspire, to act like a creative outlet, a little secret women can go about their daily routine with or flaunt at home. It's a way for a woman to feel good, liberated, or perhaps a bit whimsical for themselves. And know that they are fierce and delightfully unpredictable. Plus making sustainable clothing choices and wearing soft organic cotton undies is a big juicy cherry on top. And nothing is sexier than that!