Luxury fashion brand Christian Louboutin has dedicated a new collection to Greece, calling it a land and sea ode to “the deep blues and brilliant whites,” as well as the rich browns and blacks of Ancient Greek pottery.
For the “Greekaba Collection,” Louboutin collaborated with Greek painter and multimedia artist Konstantinos Kakanias. The artist’s fictional characters, Mrs. Tependri and her dog Pepe, act as guides along the trip through the collection.
Louboutin Inspired By Adventures in Greece
Greekaba points to the designer’s adventures in Athens and in the Cycladic Islands. It is inspired “by Christian’s insatiable love of travel and brought to life by his dear friend Konstantin Kakanias’ playful illustrations,” the company said.
Greekaba launched in June and includes shoes in white and blue, leather bags with embossed designs, and wicker baskets with tassels, along with backpacks, men’s sneakers and loafers, and sandals and pouches. It also takes inspiration from the Ancient Greek friezes, the traditional blue evil eye symbol—the Mati—that wards off curses or evil spirits, geometric patterns used in Dodecanese embroidery, and other symbols of Greek culture.
As with most Louboutin pieces, prices in the Greekaba collection are as high as the distinctive heels, ranging from 550 euros ($553) up to 4,490 euros ($4,519).
Last month, fashion and cultural historian Amanda Hallay outlined the basics of ancient Greek clothing styles in an interview with Greek Reporter. According to Hallay, the three basic styles of clothing that most people wore in the ancient world were “the chiton, peplos, and himation,” she said. “The chiton was a rectangular piece of fabric wrapped around the body to create a tube as we would with a beach wrap today—and secured at each shoulder with a fibulae, or clasp.”
Both men and women wore chitons although men’s chitons were shorter than the full-length chitons worn by women, Hallay said. The himation, however, was a kind of cloak, a long, rectangular piece of heavier fabric that was worn as an outer garment.
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