Fashion Week Athens SS2011 overview

Fashion Week Athens SS2011 ended last Sunday, here's what I'll remember from this season:

Once again this year (I believe we all remember last year's famous octopus) a sudden downpour created a small havoc. As I tweeted real-time, the rain got so heavy during the KRUG8 show that the electricians behind us were talking about a potential short circuit that could bring the power of the whole venue down. Not to mention, be potentially dangerous.

Fortunately, the rain stopped just before the show ended and the outdoors opening party started.

Unfortunately, the court, including the art installation by Oksana Mas, was already partially submerged in water.

Photo opportunity for some!


What else we'll remember other than the water?

The now famous hand, also wet from the rain.

Which after all this talk, got the photoshop depilation treatment in order to appear in the print posters.

And of course, the fact that this was the first year without Vassilis Zoulias, Christoforos Kotentos, Orsalia Parthenis, Yiorgos Eleftheriades, Dimitris Dassios and other big names of Greek fashion in the line-up, but with lots of new, promising entries.

The fashion season in Athens isn't over just yet...
Moving over to AXDW that starts today.

DElight SS2011 at FWA

all photos in this post kindly provided by Elena of LFoF.gr

DElight was undoubtedly the most controversial and talked-about show of the season, and that was mainly due to all the hype building up throughout the days before.

Let's not forget the award for Most Commercial Design Collection for Summer 2011 they won at the 1st Inernational Designer Awards of the International Apparel Federation (IAF) that took place in Hong Kong in early October, as immediately reported by Alecca Rox.

Did all that talk hurt DElight? Of course not.

They still remain a breath of fresh air for all of us out here fed up with what we've been seeing so far. Contrary to what most Greek people have come to believe, fashion is not just muslin gowns adorned with countless svarovski crystals, skin-tight satin and meringue wedding gowns. Fashion should be something we could all wear even in our everyday life, something precious and unique, yet still affordable for the audience it is targeted to. In this case, young people definitely not into crystals, satin and meringues.

DElight have proven to us that fashion is not only for celebrities and brides-to-be. That we too can go to a fashion show, point at a runway look and say I want this.

And actually mean it.

Elena wearing her DElight AW2010/11 skirt and yours truly wearing my DElight AW2009/10 dress, happy as bunnies after the DElight SS2011 show in Fashion Week Athens.

As you might have already read here, I stupidly forgot to take my camera's memory stick with me, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we collaborated with Elena to cover the show together.

I was in charge of shooting the whole show in video and this is the result:


For more DElight SS2011 photos and opinions head over to my ladies Life Full of Fashion, Alecca Rox, Fashion Algorithms and Ordinary Style Pulse. For the same in greek, Dare to Be Unique and Wardrobe Recycle will take care of you. And if you want to see some backstage fun from the show, The Soho Symposium and Life in Athens are your girls.

Simeoni SS2011 at FWA

Simeoni is a greek brand created in 1996 by Thessaloniki-born Konstantinos Simeoni.

The SS2011 show presented on Friday, October 15th started with a very impressive pose by our favourite model of this season, Gloria. Love to see more of her in the future!

We saw lots of dresses in all types of metallic fabrics, from light golden shimmer to tin-foil-looking silver lamé.

And the majority of them, with only one shoulder. A past trend about to make a comeback?


My favourite details of the show:

The Internation Klein Blue soles of the dark blue pumps. Move over Monsieur Louboutin, red is so over!

Two little bloggers-in-the-making in front row, shooting the show with their mobile phones. The new generation is already on us!

More Simeoni coverage over at Life Full of Fashion and Fashion Algorithms.

Cathreen Mal SS2011 at FWA

Cathreen Mal, one of last year's New Generation show winners (the other one was our beloved Evangelos Kavathas) presented her spring-summer 2011 collection last Friday, October 15th in Fashion Week Athens.

A very simple collection of just white looks, obviously influenced by ancient Greece.

The only embellishments were in the form of metallic rope in gold, silver and pewter.

A simple and to-the-point collection.

Let me say here that I know Cathreen Mal personally back from when we participated in the FWA FOODWEAR Fashion and Architecture Workshop together two years ago. That is why it is so hard for me to say I expected more from her.

Granted, she was right to move past the more structured winter pieces she presented last spring (which were widely applauded back then) but in her urge to make everything more light and airy for summer, I'm afraid she took it a little bit too far and oversimplified everything. Many dresses looked like they were just fabric draped around the body and secured with ties and ropes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying draping is a bad thing. What I'm saying - and I guess others are thinking too - is that we need to see more craftsmanship in a designer piece in order to justify investing in it.

Other than that, I still believe in Cathreen Mal's talent and given the fact she is just out of her teens, I'm sure we'll see a lot more from her in the years to come.

Keep doing what you love Cathreen!



More views on Cathreen Mal SS2011 over at Life Full of Fashion, Shopping Therapy and Fashion Algorithms.

Lukas "FUTURE SHOCK_womachines" at FWA

When LUKAS emailed me his FUTURE SHOCK_womachines collection manifesto while announcing his show date on Friday October 15th in Fashion Week Athens, he wasn't kidding:

Edgy, fresh, innovative, sexy, avant-garde
5 words that describe exactly the Spring Summer Collection.

This season it's about power+control.

LUKAS woman is determined to conquer everything.

An edgy collection with futuristic touch, provocative and austere.

Luxurious fabrics, innovative details, new proportions.

For all today's amazons. Remember:
"What shocks u today, is tomorrow's trend!"

The show started on time, which was unheard of during previous seasons, meaning there were a lot of late comers and quite a few empty seats. What a pity for such a great show.

On the bright side, the models weren't stick-thin, a fact that empowered the whole concept of a strong, feminine ideal. I also loved the idea of clear protective goggles (like the ones used by workers handling machinery) as alternative eye wear.

They're actually quite cheap and you can find them at hardware shops, if you wanna try this look at home. A new trend emerging?

And most importantly, I loved the fact that Lukas seems both focused in his personal vision of a strong, sexy and feminine woman and at the same time he has definitely improved and moved forward since his last show in March. Bravo Lukas!

KRUG8 SS2011 at FWA

The architect in me loved the set design of the catwalk.

The only foreign guest this year at Fashion Week Athens, KRUG8 showed their SS2011 collection last Thursday, October 14th 2010.

They are a design collective from Serbia based in Belgrade.

Most common misconception at the show was that KRUG8 is eight designers.

They're not. They chose their name because krug means circle in serbian and the number 8 is a symbol of constant renewal.

More specifically they are five: Dragana Nikolajević, Larisa Županjevac, Leonora Vekić, Lidija Jovanović and Ljiljana Vujanović.

You can visit krug8.rs for more (which was impossible to find just by googling and unfortunately is only in Serbian, gotta fix both that thing guys) but they also have a facebook page if you're more into that.

Other blogs reporting from this show were Life Full of Fashion, Fashion Algorithms and Dare to Be Unique.

Aslanis SS2011 at FWA

It's easy to hate Aslanis.

I know most fashion people do. You probably do too. His collections are kitsch, over-the-top and quite tacky, to be frank. But I will still post about the show I attended last night. Why? Well, like I've said before, Aslanis isn't just about the clothes. It's about the surreal experience of the runway show he throws each season and the history of the most successful (meaning the one who has been around since forever and has a fanatic client base) mainstream fashion designer in Greece.

Do I personally like the clothes? Other than this, not much.
But I have to give you my view of the collection, no?

The show:
It was long. Very long. More that half an hour, which in fashion-wise is TOO DAMN LONG. But the man makes lots of dresses and he has to show them. And the venue was hot. Very hot. And sweating is totally not chic.

The clothes:
As always in Aslanis collections, it was all about colour, florals, flowing muslin and silk satin, head scarves and heavy embellishment in all forms.

The models:
Several semi-celebrity Greek ones of course, but also a couple of non-Caucasian ethnic types. Kudos for the (small but trying) diversity.

And actually, there were some pieces that weren't that bad.

Like this floral number.

Or this yellow maxi dress.

Also, the fact he sends his bright coloured dresses down the runway grouped in one colour each time, is actually quite practical. Saves time for those who are actually looking for a dress in a specific colour.

So we had a flush of emerald green...

...a blast of fuchsia pink...

...an ocean of sapphire blue...

...and a swarm in caterpillar green...

...including this super cute little girl!

And of course, let's not forget Aslanis' signature piece, the best-selling category in Greek fashion, the meringue wedding dress!

Actually, a sea of them.

Seriously, the brides were sent down the catwalk all at once in their huge wedding gowns, meaning there was actually some traffic jam at the turning point.

Overall, a fashion show experience that can't be ignored and a longtime career in clothes making that shouldn't be overlooked.

More Aslanis SS2011 over at Alecca Rox, Shopping Therapy, Life Full of Fashion, Fashion Algorithms and Dare to Be Unique.