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Couture Icons Grecian Elegance
While Greece, with its wealth of his- If you’re looking to add pieces with
tory and marvellous mythology, has a more distinctively Greek flavour to
long been a source of inspiration for fash- your wardrobe, you’re in for a treat. Nu-
ion heavyweights across the world, the merous designers and brands at the fore-
country has only recently begun to truly front of the Greek fashion renaissance
emerge as a real contender on the world draw inspiration from their Greek heri-
stage, continuously elevating its stand- tage to create collections imbued with the
ing with stakeholders and fashionistas essence of Grecian elegance-and many
everywhere. Ignited in the 20th century of them are actively engaged in preserv-
by iconic designers such as Billy Bo, Gi- ing and revitalising traditional craftsman-
annis Galatis, Dimitris Parthenis, and Yan- ship and artisanal techniques around the
nis Tseklenis, the torch of Greek fashion country. The result is a fantastic variety
is now being carried forward by a new of chic looks and timeless designs created
generation of designers that seem to be by brands such as Zeus+Dione, a brand
taking the fashion world by storm, with rooted in Greek mythology and named af-
collections that range from effortlessly ter the parents of the ancient Greek god-
elegant casual wear to luxury streetwear dess of love.
styles and exquisite couture creations.
Other notable Greek designers that
Naturally, an exploration of Greece’s celebrate their Greek heritage through
flourishing fashion scene begins with their work include Aphaia Resort, which
the household names of Greek fashion, pays homage to the ancient Greek god-
world-renowned Greek designers such dess Aphaia (whose temple still stands on
as Celia Kritharioti, Vrettos Vrettakos, the island of Aegina) while creating lux-
and Vasilis Zoulias. Between them, these urious lifestyle collections infused with
three alone have dressed the who’s who cultural and historical elements, ’Ergon
of international celebrities and glittera- Mykonos, an environmentally and socially
ti, from Queen Bey and J.Lo to Zendaya conscious textile design and fashion brand
(and more than one Kardashian), created that produces extremely limited runs of
iconic TV looks (who didn’t swoon at Em- each design using 100% Greek cotton,
ily in Paris’s chic outfits?), and appeared and Daphne Valente, who creates stun-
on red carpets from Festival de Cannes to ning pieces with pleating inspired by the
the Met Gala. draping of traditional ancient Greek cloth-
ing such as the chiton and himation.
Can’t get enough of Greek haute cou-
ture? Other internationally acclaimed Indie Styles
Greek designers include Angelos Bratis,
Christos Costarellos, Dimitris Dassios, While there are numerous indie gems
Mary Katrantzou, and Themis Zouganeli, waiting to be discovered in cities and is-
as well as the late Sophia Kokosalaki—de- lands all over Greece, if your thing is ex-
signers whose work is regularly seen on ploring new places to discover smaller
exclusive runways and high-end boutiques local brands, Athens is the place to be.
in top fashion destinations worldwide. Abuzz with the creative energy of up-and-
coming young designers, the Greek capital
i GR E E C E TR A V E L
