The Artians : Sayades costumes
The Artians Sayades SS17 sources its inspiration from the traditional Greek costumes of the early 1900’s; the diversity of the ‘tribes’ who relocated themselves from the mountains to the seaside bringing with them their cultural background and traditions.
Something that really intrigued the designer Konstantina Kampisopoulou to create this collection was that each costume depicted the specific status or role of the person or in this case the women who wore it. Pieces of clothing, some flirting with the monochromatic palette of the sea and light of Greece and others with geometrical prints with a psychedelic flair of the 70s, are balanced with a minimalistic aesthetic, unfolding a contemporary look.
| interview by Anna Baniora |
Aegialian Achaia, Peloponesse | Locrian Locris, Central Greece
In ‘The Artians’ – derived from the words art and artisan – there is a sophisticated blending of art, culture and craftsmanship . What is the essence of your brand? How important is art to your design concept?
At the heart of our brand lies the passion and awareness of Art and especially Greek art from Ancient times till today’s contemporary arts. I am inspired from Athenian architectural structures and the Greek light and symmetry found everywhere. The essence of our brand is all the above, combined with rare traditional craftsmanship that pays attention to the smallest detail. Art is the basis of our design concept regarding all the prints of our fabrics. Each collection is inspired and drawn from a different art concept which also defines the colour palette infused into it.
Minoan Crete, south Aegean | Telchine Rhodes, Dodecanese
Messenian southwestern Peloponnese | Pelasgian
The SS17 collection the ‘Sayades’ is a cultural and creative combination of geometric prints and patterns with details from the Greek traditional costumes from the 1900. What were the challenges in your designing process to translate the folklore details of Greek tradition into sleek and contemporary garments?
Each design concept becomes the framework for all our design decisions. It will choose the aesthetic and determine the logic, the thinking and the reasoning of how to design the whole collection. This time creating the ‘Sayades’ collection was really intriguing as I tried to see the traditional costume from a different perspective. I designed clothing that is wearable, modern and fashionable with Greek origin yet with global characteristics. Extracting elements which give the identity of the traditional costumes, we included them in garments we designed suitable to embrace them.
Cynurian eastern Peloponnese | Cyrenean
Aimones gown | Corinthian northern Peloponnese
The name of the collection ‘Sayades’ means …
The ‘karangouna’ costume was worn by women living in certain villages in Karditsa – Thessaly, a region in central Greece. Sayias or in plural Sayiades is the name of the bridal costume worn by the ‘Karangouna’ women. We were allured to create a collection inspired by the Greek tribal costume as it was the costume that proudly announced a woman’s identity in different stages and occasions of her life.
Analyze to us the color palette of the SS17 ‘Sayades’ collection – Blue, White , Orange , Red.
I was captured by these colours as they are the main colours used in traditional costumes while at the same time I consider them very representative of the Greek spirit, sun, light, sea, and sky. It was challenging to use them in clothes that retain their simplicity and can be easily worn throughout the day.
Kassopea | Eyrytanean central Greece
You produce ‘ethically correct’ and ‘Made in Greece’ garments. How important are those attributes for the production of your garments and why? What fabrics are used for your creations?
The line of production is the heart of our company. We have invested in experienced Greek workforce in order to produce fine clothing with high quality standards. The most common fabric we use is synthetic silk.
Greek interior architect and fashion designer Konstantina Kampisopoulou is the face behind the brand The Artians. The Artians, as a name, inspired by Arts, has been presenting for 4 years now collections of standout pieces, designed to make a statement. Clothing with rare attention to the detail, overflowing with artisanal detail, made of fine fabrics bearing exclusive prints designed by our team around the garment and the garment simultaneously around the print.
