Christina Fragista : Apollo’s gems
Early Greek sandals were made from a stiff leather or wooden sole to which leather straps were attached. These straps usually went between the wearer’s big toe and second toe and around the back of the ankle to hold the sole firmly to the bottom of the foot. Much of the individual design of these sandals were created by the different ways the leather straps wrapped around the foot and ankle. Wealthy people wore soft leather sandals, sometimes dyed in various colours. The very wealthy sometimes even had gilded sandals, or sandals painted gold, in which the leather was covered with real gold.
Shoemakers became respected citizens in Greece in the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. and their craft was believed to be watched over by Apollo, the god of the sun, music, poetry and healing, among others. Sandals themselves were sometimes given magical powers in the myths of the time. Some shoemakers carved designs or placed nails in the soles of their sandals in various patterns, so that the footprints of the wearer left a distinctive mark.
Childhood memories, such as the colors, light and sea of the Greek islands are the things that inspired the designer, Christina Fragista, to create her own collection of traditional sandals combined with crystals and semi-precious stones. The combination of premium quality Greek leather, semi-precious stones and Swarovski crystal elements are what make Christina Fragista sandals unique and of outstanding quality.
All the pieces are handmade in Greece using traditional techniques by the finest artisans situated at the foothills of the Acropolis in old Athens and in the old port of Chania, Crete. Named individually after Greek islands, each pair carries its own history. The Christina Fragista styles are timeless and offer contemporary interpretations of ancient Grecian culture, using time honored techniques.
The collection can be found all over the Greek islands, South of France, Corsica, Amsterdam and Saint Barts in the Caribbean. And if you have never been to Skorpios, Thirasia, Cephalonia and Schinoussa, each pair will take you there, since each design has a small characteristic of the island it is named after it.
