Greek Chic | Couture

A Journey Through Greece’s Fashion and Style

From catwalk superstars to quirky indie brands, Greece’s fashion designers are claiming their place at the industry’s forefront with fabulous creations that are widely recognised for their superb quality and creativity. A trip to Greece is a fantastic opportunity to explore the country’s emerging fashion scene, discover its rich and fascinating background, and maybe get your hands on fresh looks.

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While Greece, with its wealth of history and marvellous mythology, has long been a source of inspiration for fashion heavyweights across the world, the country has only recently begun to truly emerge as a real contender on the world stage, continuously elevating its standing with stakeholders and fashionistas everywhere. Ignited in the 20^th century by iconic designers such as Billy Bo, Giannis Galatis, Dimitris Parthenis, and Yannis Tseklenis, the torch of Greek fashion is now being carried forward by a new generation of designers that seem to be taking the fashion world by storm, with collections that range from effortlessly elegant casual wear to luxury streetwear styles and exquisite couture creations.

Naturally, an exploration of Greece’s flourishing fashion scene begins with the household names of Greek fashion, world-renowned Greek designers such as Celia Kritharioti, Vrettos Vrettakos, and Vasilis Zoulias. Between them, these three alone have dressed the who’s who of international celebrities and glitterati, from Queen Bey and J.Lo to Zendaya (and more than one Kardashian), created iconic TV looks (who didn’t swoon at Emily in Paris’s chic outfits?), and appeared on red carpets from Festival de Cannes to the Met Gala.

Can’t get enough of Greek haute couture? Other internationally acclaimed Greek designers include Angelos Bratis, Christos Costarellos, Dimitris Dassios, Mary Katrantzou, and Themis Zouganeli, as well as the late Sophia Kokosalaki—designers whose work is regularly seen on exclusive runways and high-end boutiques in top fashion destinations worldwide.

Grecian Elegance

If you’re looking to add pieces with a more distinctively Greek flavour to your wardrobe, you’re in for a treat. Numerous designers and brands at the forefront of the Greek fashion renaissance draw inspiration from their Greek heritage to create collections imbued with the essence of Grecian elegance—and many of them are actively engaged in preserving and revitalising traditional craftsmanship and artisanal techniques around the country. The result is a fantastic variety of chic looks and timeless designs created by brands such as Zeus+Dione, a brand rooted in Greek mythology and named after the parents of the ancient Greek goddess of love.

Other notable Greek designers that celebrate their Greek heritage through their work include Aphaia Resort, which pays homage to the ancient Greek goddess Aphaia (whose temple still stands on the island of Aegina) while creating luxurious lifestyle collections infused with cultural and historical elements, ’Ergon Mykonos, an environmentally and socially conscious textile design and fashion brand that produces extremely limited runs of each design using 100% Greek cotton, and Daphne Valente, who creates stunning pieces with pleating inspired by the draping of traditional ancient Greek clothing such as the chiton and himation.

Indie Styles

While there are numerous indie gems waiting to be discovered in cities and islands all over Greece, if your thing is exploring new places to discover smaller local brands, Athens is the place to be. Abuzz with the creative energy of up-and-coming young designers, the Greek capital is the perfect destination for those looking 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 Artians, with its bold prints and colours inspired 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 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 different regional styles of traditional Greek dress and the incredible level of craftsmanship 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 Costume, in Athens, boasts a remarkable collection 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 Papantoniou Foundation (formerly Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation) in Nafplio, both in the Peloponnese. Smaller local folk and ethnographic museums, whilst not exclusively dedicated to traditional dress, are also likely to have some fantastic examples of the local styles of clothing for each region.

To delve even deeper into the history and craftsmanship of clothing and textile design in Greece, you can visit museums such as the Art of Silk Museum in Soufli, in the Evros borderlands of northeastern Greece, the Hermoupolis Textile Museum on the Aegean island of Syros, and Ifenin, an interactive exhibition on the weaving arts, in Athens.

Leather Goods

When you think of Greece and leatherwork, your first thought might be “sandals!”—naturally, given the countless depictions of sandals of all kinds on Ancient Greek pottery, statues and frescoes. Indeed, artisans across the country continue 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 traditional 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 Ancient 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 colourful loafers and flamboyant sandals are popular in over 70 countries worldwide, to tiny artisanal workshops that handcraft exquisite bespoke evening and speciality footwear, you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to handmade shoes and sandals in Greece—even if what you’re looking for is a little bit… niche, such as the creations of Kogias Art, whose portfolio of traditional and historical Greek footwear includes wearable versions of the iconic Greek tsarouhi (the red pom-pom tipped ceremonial shoe of the Greek Presidential Guard) handcrafted in their studio in the village of Kastania, Karditsa, in the region of Thessaly.

Meanwhile, your next trip to Greece is the perfect excuse to pick up a gorgeous new bag or handcrafted wallet from one of the many fabulous local brands, including Callista, a women-run brand whose handbags and accessories are handmade by skilled craftswomen in Athens, and HAK Studios, which draws inspiration from the centuries-old fur-making traditions of its founder’s hometown Kastoria to translate traditional craftsmanship into contemporary handcrafted pieces.