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is the perfect destination for those look- folk and ethnographic museums, whilst
ing to get their hands on fresh designs and
discover hot new brands. Sound good?
Then make sure to give yourself an extra
day or two in Athens to explore the city
and discover its numerous local designers
and unique shops.
Brands to look out for include The Ar-
tians, with its bold prints and colours in- it museums such as the Art of Silk Mu-
spired by Greek symbols and embroidery
traditions, and others including Badila,
Cristina Beautiful Life, Karavan, Mallory
the Label, and Milkwhite. You’ll also find
a number of homegrown urban fashion
and street style brands, such as Hard.Clo,
MeThen, Mohxa, and luxury streetwear Leather Goods
brand Sneakaces.
True Originals
While you’re exploring the world of
fashion and style in Greece, why not
take the opportunity to find out how it all
began? Several museums all over Greece
are dedicated to showcasing the many dif-
ferent regional styles of traditional Greek
dress and the incredible level of crafts-
manship involved in each intricate design.
The Costume Museum of the Lykeion
ton Ellinidon (CMLE), also known as the
Museum of the History of the Greek Cos-
tume, in Athens, boasts a remarkable col-
lection of regional costumes and jewellery
that span a period from antiquity (with
costumes of Minoan, Ancient Greek and
Byzantine inspiration) to the early urban
societies of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Other notable museums across Greece
include the Costume Museum of Kastoria
in Northern Greece as well as the Victoria
Karelias Collection of Traditional Greek
Costumes in Kalamata and the Basil Pa-
pantoniou Foundation (formerly Pelopon-
nesian Folklore Foundation) in Naflpio,
both in the Peloponnese. Smaller local
i GR E E C E TR A V E L
not exclusively dedicated to traditional
dress, are also likely to have some fantas-
tic examples of the local styles of clothing
for each region.
To delve even deeper into the histo-
ry and craftsmanship of clothing and
textile design in Greece, you can vis-
seum in Soufli, in the Evros borderlands
of northeastern Greece, the Ermoupolis
Textile Museum on the Aegean island of
Syros, and Ifenin, an interactive exhibition
on the weaving arts, in Athens.
When you think of Greece and leath-
erwork, your first thought might be
“sandals!”-naturally, given the countless
depictions of sandals of all kinds on An-
cient Greek pottery, statues and frescoes.
Indeed, artisans across the country con-
tinue to build on those ancient skills, from
contemporary brands such as Ancient
Greek Sandals, whose Grecian-inspired
footwear and accessories are handmade
locally by skilled craftsmen using tradi-
tional techniques passed down through
the centuries, to family businesses that
have been passing down their craft from
generation to generation, with examples
including Olgianna Melissinos Sandals, a
third generation sandal maker located in
Athens’s Monastiraki neighbourhood, and
Pagonis, who have been handcrafting An-
cient Greek-style sandals on the Aegean
island of Naxos for over 80 years.
But there’s so much more to Greek
leatherworking tradition than just
Grecian sandals. From brands such as
Elina Linardaki, whose handmade co-
lourful loafers and flamboyant sandals are
popular in over 70 countries worldwide,