How Møy Atelier’s Betty Bachz found her calling creating edgy eyewear for celebrity fans Harry Styles and Kate Moss
As the only Asian at her school in Norway, the model and former analyst struggled to fit in but with the launch of her avant-garde brand feels she has ‘finally found a family’
You were born in China, what took you to Norway? “My dad has a PhD in chemical process technology. In the early 1990s, he got a placement on an exchange programme to Norway [to work in the oil industry], and we ended up in Trondheim. We moved when I was four; he was 29 with US$500 in his pocket doing super-geeky stuff. We were among the first Chinese immigrants and Trondheim felt very quiet after bustling Shanghai.”
Was fitting in a challenge? “I had a different accent, my mum dressed me in a Chinese way and I really didn’t fit into my first school. I was constantly bullied for my appearance and behaviour, especially by the girls – children can be quite mean. I was the only Asian kid for miles. It got so bad that my parents moved me to a larger school where I was still the only Asian but I learned the meaning of tolerance and acceptance of being different. I tried to conform and fit in, but later in life I learned to be proud of my heritage.”
Did modelling change things for you? “I was discovered aged 15 in a shopping mall and modelled during weekends and holidays. I was skinny, Asian and tall and fitted the ‘exotic’ quota. There weren’t a lot of opportunities so I tried working in Asia. I didn’t have the required Chinese beauty aesthetics and am fiercely independent and outspoken, so I was considered too Westernised, but I didn’t fit into the Caucasian box either. I still model with Models One in London but after I gained a double-master’s degree in economics and management, I took a job in the City as an analyst with a hedge fund.”
Why did you leave a lucrative career in finance? “It was the bravest thing I have done, giving up a secure salary, flat and career at 26, to embrace life as a fashion entrepreneur. My friend Torunn Lovise Gullaksen and I were at a crossroads in our lives. She is an eyewear designer and we dreamed of building a universe together, not just one or two products.
“We started Møy Atelier, creating eyewear handmade in Japan, and have added opticals to the line this year. The name Møy is Norse, meaning young woman, someone who is open to new ideas. We launched in Harvey Nichols in 2017 and I have been surprised at how fast it has grown. Our biggest market is Europe and the Middle East, and we now have a showroom in Shanghai.”
