High - Summer '23

Carrying on the subtle-romantic aura that outlines the High Summer season, this ZEUS+DIONE collection is all about the art of craft. Marios Schwab makes a tangible manifestation of Immanuel Kant’s dictum that “the hand is the window into the mind”, stimulated by the almost cult-like, Εκείνη/Her’ and ‘ERGOCHIRO’ magazines of the ‘70s, that came to nourish the creativity of women through savvy ideas, patterns and templates.

Exploring the vast heritage of the Pomace community in Northern Greece, archival silk tablecloths entirely hand-embroidered by local women, have been deep-dyed, sewed and reassembled into sumptuous dresses and blouses, redefined and reinvented yet reflecting all the signs of age. Embodying cross-stitching, azure and tenuous flat stitch embroideries into tailored day-wear designs, this collection is an ode to homemade craftsmanship. Bias-cut slip-dresses set up sleek feminine shapes. Pleated, shirred and crinkled panels elevate simple lines into flexible forms. Gathered bodices fall to billowy skirts with soft folds, while halter necks and skin-baring cutouts magnify the tender feel of the collection.

Mirroring the spectacular reefs off the Mediterranean coast, the palette blends coral shades, shimmering silver-grey tones, beige and ivory summer neutrals, light blues and versatile black hues. The signature ‘Spathoto’ silk has been woven in coral red and silver base with monochromatic stripes of raw-silk. Baroque pearls have been used as decorative buttons, whilst synthetic corals and silver sculptural hardware in the shape of shells, adorn cord rope belts, and jewellery.