Hand-woven textiles of Alexandra Bissa

Contemporary design meets traditional craftsmanship in the hand-woven textiles of Alexandra Bissa

Textile designer Alexandra Bissa discovered her passion for handmade textiles in Metsovo, a mountainous village in Epirus where she spent her childhood summers watching her grandmother create colourful hand-woven textiles. When she returned as an adult, she spent a year learning the secrets of the loom from local women including her aunt. After an MA in Textile Design from the Chelsea College of Art, she founded her own studio in Athens where she presently crafts her creations on a dobby loom using quality cotton and wool yarns to create hand-woven accessories for her own brand, from scarves and shawls to pochettes and cushions, as well as bespoke designs for luxury fashion houses like Zeus + Dione with whom she has been collaborating since 2016. Starting with decorative bands for shirt cuffs and sweater sleeves, her collaboration with Zeus + Dione has recently expanded to entire garments and bags under the stewardship of the brand’s creative director Marios Schwab. Alexandra’s skills and creativity also extend to artworks, as she has taken part in exhibitions at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and the Museum of London. Inspired by the culture of ancient Greece, from Mycenaean and Minoan art to classical architecture, and drawing from traditional Greek textiles and patterns, Alexandra celebrates her country’s cultural heritage but at the same time imbues her designs with a contemporary sensibility that evocatively bridges both past and present.

Photography Courtesy of Alexandra Bissa