Fall - Winter '18-'19

An ancient Greek colony later known as Constantinople, Byzantium was the setting where fragments from Middle East, North-Africa and the Mediterranean region encountered. The result was a complex, multi-ethnic society with a flourishing decorative arts and crafts culture that produced a new visual language. Traces of this can still be discovered in intricate icons, epic reliefs and the remains of ornate mosaics that depict characters in patterned silks, dye infused fabrics, magnificent jewels and dramatic drapes. Immortalized in numerous of these images, Empress Theodora, who co-ruled the Eastern Roman Empire with her husband Justinian I and enabled the Byzantine aesthetics to spread around the Mediterranean region, was the heroin of the era. With her commanding presence, she personifies the regal, yet assertive mood of this Zeus+Δione fall/winter 2018 collection, titled ‘Empress’.

Theodora cultivated gallant attitude, opulent splendor and divine decorum with her demeanor, resulting in a look that is empowered. She is epitomized in the long wool outerwear cape, decorated with embroideries reminiscent of the styles she is featured wearing in many mosaics. Sharp tailored blazers, bring structure and precision. Eveningwear is lavish yet sensual, dominated by long and lean silhouettes with a rich material vocabulary consisting of velvets, shear silks and sequins. The color palette is saturated with rich hues reflective of the color world of Byzantine frescos found across different corners of the Mediterranean Sea. Mulberry, sky blue, petrol blue, midnight blue, gold and silver have been matched with Zeus+Δione signature black and ivory, creating a magical mosaic of tones.