Poppy Lissiman has built a career on the idea that getting dressed should be fun. The Australian accessories designer’s sunglasses and bags are often the first thing people notice.
Her latest Melbourne project with MECCA takes that idea one step further. For Born Creative, Lissiman invited people to customise their own makeup cases by hand, turning a beauty staple into something personal, imperfect and entirely their own.
“I love hand-painting everyday objects,” she says. “Whether that’s an old suit I own, a crusty old side table, a canvas tote, or in this case, a make-up case.”
Inside the MECCA workshop
The Art of Personalisation workshop took place at MECCA Bourke Street on Thursday, 8th October, as part of MECCA’s Born Creative program. Over an hour, guests painted and personalised their own makeup cases, with all materials included.
Lissiman says the idea had been floating around in her head for a while, so when MECCA approached her, it felt like the right moment to make it happen. She was particularly drawn to the campaign’s focus on showing young women that a creative career is possible. It is easy to see why she said yes.
Lissiman started her label in 2008 as a ready-to-wear brand before shifting into accessories in 2014, building a global following with bold eyewear and faux-leather bags along the way. Her designs have since been worn by everyone from Beyoncé and Bella Hadid to Kylie Jenner, Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber and Rita Ora.
Finding the fun in everyday
Lissiman is under no illusions about Melbourne’s relationship with black. She arrived for our chat in a black shirt and skirt, having packed in a rush for the trip. “I do love head to toe black myself,” she says.
Lissiman has no interest in talking Melbourne out of black. She keeps the base simple and lets one or two accessories shift the mood. Today, that means bright ketchup-red Poppy Lissiman sunglasses and neon green pony-skin Acne Studios clogs: still an all-black outfit, just one with a point of view.
For warmer days, Lissiman reaches for a big netted tote, ideally one with a slightly capricious streak. Fill it with the things you love, then take it somewhere it will be seen. “Pop all your fav bits and bobs in and show off,” she says. “Take it to the park for a picnic.” It is less about what you carry, and more about how you carry it.
That desire to make the everyday more expressive has shaped Lissiman’s work from the beginning. She traces it to the laid-back lifestyle and isolation of growing up in Western Australia. By 10, she was sewing, making the things she could not find around her, and she never really stopped.
Her Melbourne favourites & what’s next
Whenever Lissiman is in Melbourne, the National Gallery of Victoria is first on the list. She knows it is not a hidden gem, but that does not make it any less essential. “I never miss a chance to go,” she says.
She rounds out the day at Collingwood’s multi-brand store Mane before heading to Miscellania for a late-night dance. From art and independent fashion to Melbourne’s underground nightlife, it’s an itinerary that captures the city at its best.
Lissiman is also returning to apparel, a space she first explored at 19 before putting her clothing line on hold at 25. Now 38, she says her taste has changed along with her. “I never stopped loving designing clothes,” she says.
“I’ve just been waiting until it felt right to come back to it.” After years focused on accessories, the return feels less like a comeback and more like picking up a thread she never really wanted to drop.
Lately, she has been revisiting the work of Japanese costume designer and art director Eiko Ishioka, whose costumes for Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Fall, along with campaigns for Issey Miyake and Parco, remain a masterclass in colour and drama. “I love her surreal use of colour, exaggerated silhouettes and the absolute theatre of it all,” Lissiman says.
Her current trend obsession is pedal pushers, a silhouette she describes as equally theatrical. “Loved them as a teenager and I still love them now,” she says. It is exactly the kind of answer you would expect from a designer who has always treated getting dressed as a chance to have fun.
For Lissiman, fashion has always been at its best when it leaves room for personality. A pop of red here, a netted tote there, a pair of pedal pushers when the mood strikes. In a city that loves to dress in black, she is quietly making the case for a little more colour.
