back to the future

Giorgos and Charalambos @ Thisseio

Blue hair, spike collar, deathly T-shirt illustrations and a cool attitude.
That was my first impression of Giorgos and Charalambos, two guys who are not afraid to speak the truth.

"I always trust my personal instincts when I choose my outfits." Giorgos declared. " I have no conventions, I choose and mix my clothes depending on my mood, I experiment and I treat it like a game. It’s like wearing a costume where I play a role depending on my mood. I do not believe in labels, most of my clothes come from women's stores like the jacket I am wearing today. I believe being yourself is the norm and I use clothes to express myself. The way I dress, attracts like-minded people and keeps conventional minded people at bay. Generally, I mix and match but I also love the style of Comme des Garçons and Digitaria, an innovative fashion label by designer Eleftheria Arapoglou. "

When asked about the way Greeks dress, he said that "the majority of Greeks show a lack of confidence in fashion and in themselves. They do not feel secure enough to express themselves and I believe that this kind of behavior is deeply rooted in a wrongful interpretation of society values and the strong influence of family and religion. I find their dress style dull, boring and miserable and I don't see them changing in the near future."

Charalambos however, is more optimistic." I think there is hope. The new generation is more open-minded since they travel more than they used to and are influenced by other cultures. As a fashion designer, I hope to change old habits. My designs feature futuristic elements and I try to visualize the new style I am dreaming of."

costume exhibition @ Benaki Museum

To Dress

The Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation is organizing a costume exhibition at the Benaki Museum, from the 24th of March until the 23rd of May, titled: “Endyesthai (To Dress). Towards a Costume Culture Musuem”. The scope of the exhibition is to display the important costume collection of the Foundation and to underline the necessity of the creation of a Costume Culture Museum in Greece.

The exhibition aims to present to the public a global consideration of the act of dressing and to examine it through as different aspects as possible. The exhibits will be organized following two parallel and complementary concepts: the main one will show the evolution of dress, mainly in the West, starting from body painting in primitive cultures up to the extravagances presented on the modern catwalks. Parallel to this, there will be a series of smaller units, extensions of the main one, which will approach costume following its function, such as ceremonial garments, traditional costumes, uniforms, disposable garments, theatre costumes, etc.

The costume collections of the P.F.F. are no longer confined to Greek regional costume but are continually enriched with fashion pieces. It remains the only organized collection of haute couture and prêt-à- porter in Greece. At present, the collection consists of 5,500 pieces and includes examples of work by Mariano Fortuny, Jeanne Lanvin, Christian Dior, Issey Miyake, Paul Poiret, Paco Rabanne & other as well as Greek designers, known internationally like, Yannis Evangelidis, Jean Dessès, James Galanos, Dimis Kritsas, George Stavropoulos, Yannis Tseklenis, Sophia Kokosalaki & other.

If you want to see the exhibition through the creative eyes of a fashion pro
you just have to check the following dates:

Saturday 24 April, 12:30 p.m. Vaso Konsola
Sunday 25 April, 12:30 p.m. Yannis Tseklenis
Friday 30 April, 7:00 p.m. Ioanna Papantoniou (curator of the exhibition)
Friday 7 May, 7:00 p.m. Ioanna Papantoniou
Saturday 8 May, 12:30 p.m. Erifili Nikolopoulou
Sunday 9 May, 12:30 p.m. Erifili Nikolopoulou
Friday 14 May, 7:00 p.m. Ioanna Papantoniou
Saturday 15 May, 12:30 p.m. Vaso Konsola
Sunday 16 May, 12:30 p.m. Markellos Niktas

(photo courtesy of the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation)

the laughter yoga teacher

Eleni Skrekou, laughter yoga teacher

We met Eleni in Thisseio and were attracted to her by her big smile and positive energy. A lively, spirited person, she is working as a laughter yoga teacher and also is participating in the Free Hugs campaign. We actually show her in action and shared a warm hug as well.

We asked her about fahion and the things she likes to wear. She said that she likes comfortable, colourful, joyful clothes, things that represent her mood. Her aim is to give a pleasant and positive image, to make people smile. "Colours represent our mood," she added "and I don't like the way in Athens wear so much black; especially in winter it's like seeing crowds of darkness walking around. I like to be a splash of colour in the crowd! Even on these black trousers I'm wearing I've sewn on happy words like 'love' in colourful threads to break the blackness."

We asked her if she has favourite clothes or accessories and replied that she loves Anna Theoharakis' jewellery, an artist based on Aegina island. "She makes everything by hand and uses fabrics and threads. I probably have been very affected by her work, her combination of colours, and now I can't live without her jewellery! When I go out without wearing colourful jewellery I feel as if something is missing. If I'm in a flat mood I find I don't feel like wearing any jewellery at all. Also I have a very comfortable jean-skirt that's hand-made and has colourful details and is below the knee. I like loose trousers like I'm wearing today and tops in bright block colours, rather than items that have lots of colours together. Several times I've been told that I look Indian because of my physical features but also because of the way I dress - and that was before I ever went to India too."

Her opinion about greek everyday fashion is that people should be more daring. "Although we live busy lives and taking time to choose what clothes to wear can be demanding, perhaps people should spend less time watching television and more on focussing on their personal expression. My mood is very affected by my clothes and I wish people would dare more to be themselves. Sometimes I like to feel like a rainbow in the way I dress and overdo it, but so what?!"

We Met the April Market @ Gazi

stylish couple @ Meet the Market

Fotini posing for us

Lovely Kim











The April's Meet the Market took place at Technopolis in Gazi, the ex Gas factory. The industrial sourounding made the exhibition even more interesting, where colorful clothes, accessories and people moving around contrasted the cold metal structure of the building.

Easter @ Athens

Arwen, Sellas Cafe, Exarcheia

Arwen Curley Pandeleiakis is an Artist and Interior Decorator who lives on the island of Andros. We met her at the Sellas cafe, in Exarcheia, on a sunny day during Easter and talked about many things, among them fashion and her feelings about it. That day she was wearing her favourite all-purpose winter-to-summer dress and this is how she explained it to us:

"In winter I wear it with a roll-neck and thick stockings and in summer without. With it I'm wearing my favourite silk coat. The scarf is because I'm in Athens and I feel it protects me. I can play with it when I'm annoyed, or I can cover my neck when I feel threatened. It's from Zara; my advice is to never buy anything that costs more than 40 euros, unless it's a beautiful coat or something else really worth while."

When asked about her sense of style she replied: "When I was 13, I discovered Goth, and since then there are always elements of that in my wardrobe. I love the combination of Goth-romantic and minimal.

I choose what I am going to wear each day according to how I'd like my day to go. It's like setting the atmosphere according to how you clothe your body. For example, I love Autumn and Spring and so sometimes I wear clothes that will bring on the atmosphere of that season in my life.

My favourite clothes are my pyjamas! By the way, I'd like to say that I never ever ever buy something just because it's in fashion, and I think no one should - everyone should try to find their own style. Just because you see it in a magazine, it doesn't mean it suits you. I still have things that I bought 10 years ago which I continue to wear to this very day!"