Observe December 2019

December 2019

obĎƒerve

The Top 10 of Paris Fashion Week FW19 | Greek Style. Not in Crisis. | Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter2019 | How Fashion Should Make Us Feel | Melina Mercouri

Everything is connected.

The only thing we should do is to obĎƒerve.

Editor’s Letter

05

07

Collection Reviews The Top 10 of Paris Fashion Week FW19

13

Editorial Shoot Greek Style. Not in Crisis.

A fashion collage inspired by Greek history.

FrontRow Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2019 Made in Northern England

19

23

Interview The Seamstress The fashinating story of a young at heart seamstress.

Culture and Arts Story Melina Mercouri The last Greek Goddess.

28

ViewPoint How Fashion Should Make Us Feel The role of fashion in the psychological formation of the individual.

31

editor’s

letter

obσerve is…

Nowadays, people read more than ever before seating in front of a computer screen or an iPad. People want to observe a photo shoot and participate even with their imagination. Through this transitional time for the media, in these difficult financial times, one can be creative just by observing the social environment in which he or she lives.

Being proud of our creation, we’ll try to convey our passion for fashion and everything new. It’s in our human nature the need to be charmed by the new, and at the same time to be nostalgic about the past.

With the obσerve magazine, we will follow many different paths, but we’ll also make many stops. We will observe and talk about issues that bother us in our daily life. We will read about people who deserve our admiration, and learn about them and their work that they have contributed to their country and humanity. We will observe how fashion changes from season to season, and analyze it.

Welcome to

obσerve magazine where everything is connected, and the only thing we should do is to observe.

Best Wishes,

Katerina Stamatopoulou

obσerve

05

Everything is connected.

The only thing we should do is to obĎƒerve.

COLLECTIONS reviews

After Paris Fashion Week has ended, we’re left with the inspiring collections and the sophisticated messages the designers sent down the runways. Who stood out and tantalized our senses?

Here’s our Top 10 of the season:

The Top 10 of Paris Fashion Week FW19

CHRISTIAN DIOR Maria Grazia Chiuri is known for her rebellious and feminist collections. This time, English teddy girls, Yves Saint Laurent’s 1960s revolutionary designs for Dior, and Robin Morgan, the American feminist activist, was on Chiuri’s rebellious mood board. At the backyard of the Musee Rodin, the Dior show opened with an Italian poem by Tomaso Binga, an Italian artist who chose a masculine pseudonym to parody the social privileges reserved for men. Binga’s ‘living writing’ alphabet (1976) decorated the walls of the show while the voices of Amy Winehouse, Chrissie Hynde, and Colourbox created a girl-power soundtrack. Highlights included T-shirts with Morgan’s words, bucket hats, high-waisted checked trousers, prom-style circle skirts, leopard print and vinyl paired with lace veils, and saddlebags, of course! In this show, Chiuri managed to marry Dior’s elaborated clothes with British street style of the 1960s, while giving a nod to the popular exhibition “Christian Dior: Designers of Dreams” (on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London until 14th of July 2019). σ

obσerve

07

Photo credit: nowfashion.com

SAINT LAURENT The timeless Yves Saint Laurent muses Betty Catroux and Catherine Deneuve were the inspiration for Anthony Vaccarello’s new collection. He made many references to clothes both muses wore in the past, especially to Deneuve’s Saint Laurent trench in La Chamade (1968).

Bold shoulders, mesh tops, vinyl blazers, leather shortshorts, and ruffled party dresses bore in mind the exaggerated and flamboyant dress code of the 1980s.

Also, eighteen menswear looks were presented within the womenswear collection. But, all those 1980s vibes could be wasted if it wasn’t for the fluorescent and black lighting, which reminded us how powerful and full of color the 80s were. σ

RICK OWENS The whole collection channeled glam rock, as Rick Owens paid homage to the legendary but also forgotten designer, Larry Legaspi, who created many signature designs for Grace Jones, Kiss, and Labelle and also served as inspiration for Owens’ whole career. Another American designer, Charles James, also influenced the FW19 collection. To amplify the bold looks, Salvia, the performance and make-up artist, distorted the models’ faces by adding prosthetics such as cheek implants and alien-like contact lenses. Silver fur and leather jackets, heavy platform boots, and huge, brightly colored shield glasses were the landmarks of the collection. σ

obσerve

CELINE This season, Celine looked more ladylike. Hedi Slimane left the 1980s party girls behind and proposed a more bourgeois, archive-inspired look. Pleated skirts, leather culottes, and stonewashed jeans all paired with thigh-high platform boots. There was also a sense of a much more sophisticated, middle-class, Parisian style, embodied in long, printed dresses with matching leather belts, Victorian collared shirts paired with knitted sweaters and tweed blazers, all worn with aviator sunglasses. One thing is for sure, the new Celine once again reminded us a lot of the old Celine. σ

YOHJI YAMAMOTO Black, black, and more black. Yohji Yamamoto is the last living legend of sartorialism, and this season the 75-year-old Japanese designer was, once again, in his comfort zone. The collection was inspired by an era before ‘fashion’ got its modern name, a time when garments were only created for practical reasons.

In such clothing, you could see the raw edges, the imperfect draping and seams, the string details, the childlike painting. The last looks were referring to the 17th-century Peruvian tradition, called Tapada Limenia, of women covering themselves and leaving just one eye showing, as a way of anonymously flirting. Being the master of wabi-sabi, Yamamoto proved once more that being ‘imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete’ can be very liberating. σ obσerve

09

Photo credit: nowfashion.com

VALENTINO To create the collection, Pierpaolo Piccioli drew inspiration from The Movement for the Emancipation of Poetry, an anonymous Florentine gang who plasters their city’s public areas with pages of poetry. Piccioli wrapped the models with soft fabrics decorated with Jun Takahashi’s neoclassical-inspired lovers’ design and a few lines of poetry. The bucket hat was paired with most of the collection’s looks. In this poetic and romantic collection, Piccioli successfully combined the dreamy essence of eveningwear and the reality of daywear. σ

COMME DES GARCONS “Many small shadows come together to make one powerful thing.” This was the explanation given by Rei Kawakubo to accompany her “Gathering of Shadows” collection. Searching for beauty in the dark, the deconstructed clothes looked like huge black birdcages that reflected a unique quality of light, depending on the material. Leather, vinyl, velvet paired with mesh tops and hoods lent a punk-goth element to the collection. σ

obσerve

LOUIS VUITTON The Louvre’s Cour Carre turned into Nicolas Ghesquiere’s playground for the Louis Vuitton’s show.

To create a discussion about our sense of place and our ‘tribes’, the designer brought Centre Pompidou’s bright-colored pipes and poles into the historic museum, naming the show “The beauty of controversy.”

The clothes themselves had a 1980s electro, Parisian, New Romantic aesthetic. Leather mixed with Libertyesque florals and denim, biker jackets, asymmetrical shawls worn with A-line skirts, and most of them paired with a small leather swimming cap-like helmet. Great contradictions so beautifully displayed, reminiscent of the people who rendezvoused at Cafe Beaubourg and Cafe Costes back in the 1980s. σ

GIVENCHY ‘The Winter of Eden’ was the name of Clare Waight Keller’s collection for Givenchy. Keller had Eden on her mind as she wanted to emphasize the duality “of all-round and sharp structure as the silhouette marries tailoring and flou.” (flou is the French word for a fluid, draped fabric). The structure of the tailoring was plenty masculine, with sharp shoulders and blazers, while long plisse floral dresses added an extra movement to the body. Snakeskin was almost everywhere in the collection since the Garden of Eden’s central player was the cunning serpent. Leather trenches, bags, and high heels with 40s style platforms bore a hint of original sin. σ

obσerve

11

Photo credit: nowfashion.com

CHANEL Gods and legends live on mountain tops, and so does Karl Lagerfeld, from now on. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that the legendary designer chose classic Swiss chalets covered in fake snow as a backdrop for his final show at Grand Palais.

Lagerfeld was always curious about what the future holds; who doesn’t remember the launch of the Chanel spaceship at the FW17 Ready-to-wear show? The show began with a minute of silence in tribute to The Kaiser of Fashion. This was an opportunity to reflect on Lagerfeld’s legacy: In 1983, he took the reins of Chanel at a time when everybody considered the French fashion house old and almost dead. In 2019, Chanel is one of the most powerful, influential names in the world.

Celebrities gathered to honor the Grand Métier; Kristen Stewart, Marion Cotillard, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer to name a few. Perhaps fittingly, the collection had a great dose of classic Chanel style. Tweed, herringbone, and houndstooth winter coats, and plaid trousers were paired with chunky knitwear, puffy, bright jackets, and lots of eye-catching accessories.

Penelope Cruz walked the runway like a true snow queen, in a snowball-shaped white skirt, holding a white rose as a farewell to the late designer. While David Bowie’s “Heroes” echoed, Cara Delevingne led the emotional finale to the sound of applause, and everyone shed a tear. σ

obσerve

editorial

Greek Style.

Not in Crisis.

When fashion meets Greek history & nowaday’s crisis through the art of collage.

obĎƒerve

13

There are not such things as the Elgin Marbles.

- Melina Mercouri

Chima cotton-poplin shirt, The Row. The Sally denim midi skirt, Current/Elliott.

The Bayswater textured-leather bag, Mulberry.

Zunitaco 120 leather and suede sandals, Christian Louboutin.

obĎƒerve

An Opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down.

- Maria Callas Floral-print silk-organza dress, Dolce&Gabbana.

The Knot watersnake -trimmed intrecciato satin clutch, Bottega Veneta.

Hangisi 105 Satin Pumps, Manolo Blahnik.

obĎƒerve

15

I know that I know nothing.

- Socrates

Cropped cutout crepe top, Alice+Olivia.

Midnight Penelope skirt, Stella McCartney.

Quartz Noir Backpack, Callista Crafts.

LALAoUNIS Rhodes sandals, Ancient Greek Sandals.

obĎƒerve

The first and best victory is to conquer self.

- Plato

Twist shoulder drape midi dress, Victoria Beckham.

Flamenco Flap leather and suede shoulder bag, Loewe.

Bianca suede sandals, Saint Laurent.

obĎƒerve

17

The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

- Aristotle

Denim and wool-jersey midi dress, Junya Watanabe.

Antigona envelope clutch in black grained leather, Givenchy.

Flat gladiator sandal in multicolor print with rivets, Ancient Greek Sandals x Peter Pilotto.

obĎƒerve

FrontRow

Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2019 Made in Northern England

Tradition is always the backbone of the collections from Alexander McQueen, and this time Sarah Burton, the Creative Director behind the fashion house, used the theme to take us back to her roots.

“I like things to be modern and still have a bit of tradition,” the late designer Lee Alexander McQueen once remarked.

Case in point – the very memorable Horn of Plenty collection (FW09) in which the gifted visionary took Dior’s New Look and totally deconstructed it by using fabrics and techniques in his own unique way. McQueen’s handling of the patterns and the fabrics could be considered ‘upcycling’ before this term became widespread in the high-end fashion world. As always, McQueen was ahead of his time, while faithfully keeping the tradition alive.

Fast forward 10 years – for Alexander McQueen’s FW19 collection, Burton, took us to her homeland and narrated, through the collection, what it means to be born in Northern England. For Burton, mill towns and the wild countryside are the trademarks of her birthplace. There, many of the finest wool fabrics in the world are manufactured. The place and the memories, as well as bolts of cloth and men’s suit tailoring, were the inspiration for the collection.

Every look on the runway was perfectly constructed and deconstructed at the same time. Exceptionally made working-class suits looked both classic and punk, masculine and feminine. Black, fuchsia, and red taffeta dresses were extraordinarily crafted and bore such a strong resemblance to blooming roses, that you could almost smell an intoxicating scent in the air. A Prince of Wales coat and a white cotton-poplin shirtdress were inspired by leftover fabrics, further echoing McQueen’s upcycling message.

obσerve

19

A long silver dress, made from loom heddles that were cut into sequins, was created to mimic the sound of the factory floor whenever the dress was in motion — another statement, reminding the audience that even parts of machinery could be a great source of inspiration and creation. As far as the accessories were concerned, industrial textures completed each look with chains worn across the body, multi-hoop earrings, cuffs, chokers, and rings. On the models’ feet, galosh-style boots and chunky high-heels complimented the collection’s aesthetic.

As with all McQueen collections, this one also had a story to tell. This time the famous “Made in England” trademark met the harsh aesthetic of the Industrial Revolution and the romanticism of the Bronte sisters. The Punk movement rubbed elbows with the 15th century’s War of the Roses, proving that both are a substantial part of British history.

This collection presented, in the most inventive way, the polarities of soft and hard, of strength and vulnerability. It also had a strong message for modern-day women; “I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress,” McQueen used to say; Burton clearly adopted this attitude – creating bold, striking silhouettes.

obσerve

Once again, Burton proved that she is an excellent storyteller, just like the founding designer was, yet in her own Northern English way, borrowing from everyday mills and the wild countryside corners, as well as her country’s history, to create a finely-crafted statement collection.

Simon Ungless, Executive Director of the School of Fashion, recently gave an interview to the French fashion magazine Madame Figaro and reminisced about the years when Sarah Burton was his student at London’s Central Saint Martins College (in fact, Burton’s work with McQueen began after Ungless introduced the two). “Sarah is passionate about technique, quality, craftsmanship,” said Ungless; his words certainly rang true in this collection.

In June, Burton, will be honored by the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) and receive the 2019 Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti International Award for Alexander McQueen, an award honoring charity and the promotion of culture and art. σ

obσerve

21

Photo credit: Guillaume Roujas for NOWFASHION

“I want to empower women.

I want people to be afraid of the women IAlexanderMcQueen dress” obσerve

InteRview

The Seamstress

The fascinating story of a young at heart seamstress.

ATHENS, Greece - Arriving at the Metro station in

Monastiraki, you have two options: Head to Thiseio to see the antiquities or head to Psyrri to see how the young people have launched jobs in a neighborhood where the old Athens with its traditional taverns and cafes mixes with trendy cafes and shops that sell unique creations made from young artists or people who still feel young at heart. ​ Following the second option, and walking on the main street, you can see how many independent artists and fashion designers have opened their boutique and atelier. ​ ut also, there are those people who feel young B at heart. Such a person is Elli Chatzopoulou, a pro seamstress by profession. After working many years as a seamstress, a designer and a stylist back in the 1980s, she is back as a sewing teacher who wants to pass her passion for sewing to the young generation.

"Since I was a child, I grew up with the image of my mom and her friends reading fashion magazines and deciding what to sew next for them and their children,” says Elli a middle-aged green-eyed woman with short copper hair. Even though her mom didn't wish for her daughter to become a seamstress, Elli was always obσerve

finding a way to practice her sewing skills on her brother's old clothes while her mom was out for chores or visiting a friend. "It was very degrading for a young girl, during those years, to become a seamstress. It was as if she didn't want to get into the university a become a successful woman in her profession, for example as a lawyer or a doctor,” she says while she is checking a student's skirt pattern. Keeping in mind that in the 1980s, especially in Greece, women began to occupy leading positions in companies which in the previous decades had been only for men.

Being a rebellious young woman, at the age of seventeen, she decided to leave her parental home and live alone. She got a job at a lawyer firm as a secretary. It was then when she decided to sew her first collection and wear it at the office. "I was freaking out only at the thought of wearing the same clothes as other women! I wanted to wear something unique with my personality on it,” and who wouldn't having her skills in sewing? "Everyday I was wearing something different at work, and the other girls at the office were asking me which boutique I bought my clothes from, but I answered them that I was sewing my clothing."

Elli didn't work only in a lawyer firm. She had also worked in a bar as a waitress during the weekends to get extra income and pay for her lessons to get into

23

the Law School. Even if she succeeded in getting into the Law School, she was never fond of the idea of becoming a lawyer.

"While I was sewing for myself, I had a lot of friends who wanted me to create something for them. I decided to get into a Fashion Design School and learn how to design clothes and do styling. I only knew how to sew according to BURDA magazine patterns which didn't help me much,” she says while she works on her professional sewing machine.

As the years were passing, her clientele was becoming larger. She had clients not only in Greece but also abroad. "I was sewing a woman's clothes according to her personality. According to her mentality. If she was married, in love, divorced or even crazy!,” she says smiling. Being a seamstress for over twenty years, you have a lot of stories to tell.

"Many women get married by only wearing my clothes.

You should listen to me young ladies!" she says with a loud voice so as to be heard by the single ones. It's true that women are seeking to be equal with men and forget their feminine nature. As the well-known quote says: "Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." But, this is another story to be told.

She got married and had a son. She decided to leave her atelier since many of her clients chose to shop from fast-fashion clothing retail companies. The years were passing by, and her son started the school and Elli had some of her free time back. She rented a small warehouse, and she put all the machines that she used to work at her atelier. ​ It was in 2013 when some of her close friends informed her that sewing was in fashion again. The universe was conspiring, as Paulo Coelho might have obσerve

said, for Elli to become a sewing teacher. "I had friends who were attending sewing classes. Every time we met for coffee and chitchat, they brought their creations to me to correct them. They keep telling me that I must launch my own sewing school because I was the best. So, my first students were my friends."

obσerve

Photo credit: Katerina Stamatopoulou.

The rest is history. Today, Elli's Sewing School has moved from the small warehouse to the most promising and creative neighborhood of Athens. Her friends have become pros, and Elli's students are from all over Athens' suburbs. She has become a great fan of the social media since they are the medium to keep her up-to-date and communicate with young people. "Even though I am of a certain age, I prefer to be surrounded by young people. I think I have still a lot to offer, and sewing was always my passion,” she says with great excitement. "Sewing is not just a game with fabrics. It's art and it demands logic and consistency." ​ The phone rings. "Sorry, girlfriend. I have to speak with my son!" She's still a housewife and a mother who still fights with her demons and make plans for the future...

Despite her age, as she says. σ

25

“Sewing is not just a game with fabrics.

It's art and it demands logic and consistancy” ElliChatzopoulou obσerve

culture& ARTS STORY

Melina Mercouri

The last Greek Goddess.

images sources: theredlist.com, personnal sites.

They called her: “last Greek goddess” and a “woman - flame”. Throughout her life, Melina Mercouri was full of dreams, hopes, and fights. She was one of the most important Greeks of the 20th century.

“…I

hope to see the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens before I die. But, if they come later, I will be reborn…”

This phrase sums up the passion of Melina Mercouri’s campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles.

A woman-symbol whom left her mark on the entire world with her words, actions, style, and presence. She

fought for Greece and lived with one and only demand: to see the Parthenon Marbles back to their homeland.

She didn’t need any introductions to be recognized.

Just the sound of her first name was enough. Melina of “Stella”, Melina of “Never on Sunday”, Melina of Parthenon Marbles, Melina of Greece, Melina of Greeks.

obσerve

She was born οn October 18, 1920, and she came from a family of politicians since her grandfather was one of the most successful and popular Mayors of Athens for more than twenty years. Also, her father was a Minister for more than thirty years. Her grandfather was her role model, “He taught me to love Greece, to be brave, and to not count on money. For him, money were a great shame. He taught me the fairytale of life.

He infused me with the idea that Greece, Athens are the top” .

“…Greta Garbo is who made me become an actress…”

From a very young age, she revealed her untamed, powerful and reactionary character. While, her female classmates played with dolls, she was standing in front of a mirror and she was performing. “Greta Garbo is who made me become an actress,” she says. In September, 1938, she was accepted to the Drama School of the National Theatre in Athens. Her dream had just begun. She would get married at the age of 17. But, she would find her true love at the Cannes Festival’s Red Carpet in 1955 when she was nominated for her main role in Michael Cacoyannis’ “Stella.” It was a love at first sight with the American film director, Jules Dassin who would change Mercouri’s life forever: “Jules has taught me what cinematography means. He has taught me everything.”

Back in 1960, Mercouri and Dassin were nominated for

obσerve

the Academy Awards for Best Actress in leading role with the movie “Never on Sunday.” . Although, she didn’t win the Best Actress Award, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Song composed by Manos Hadjidakis. Another movie was coming up in 1961, in which Melina starred “Phaedra” in the eponymous film.

A part of the filming took place in the British Museum’s hall where the Parthenon Marbles are displayed.

This moment would mark the beginning of a perpetual struggle for Mercouri. In 1967, the coup d’ état stopped her plans by changing her Greek citizenship.

She self-exiled to Paris, and she would only return after the fall of Greek’s military junta in 1974. She would become a founding member of the Greek Socialist Party, and in 1977 she would win a parliamentary seat.

“…Jules has taught me what cinematography means. He has taught me everything…”

She became a very passionate and controversial Minister of Culture and Sciences from 1981 to 1989 and from 1993 to 1994. Back in 1982, at the UNESCO’s International Conference of Culture Ministers, in Mexico, there would be the first time where the return of the

29

Parthenon Marbles issue would be officially set on the table. “Parthenon Marbles do exist. There are no such things as the Elgin Marbles,” she passionately advocated.

Freedom was the most important thing for her. She had fought her whole life to be free as a person, but she had never managed to release from her favorite habit, smoking, which ultimately killed her, as she was diagnosed with lung cancer. “I thought that I would be afraid of the illness, but what I’m afraid of the most is to not loving me,” she said. Being hospitalized at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, she asked for a cigarette. “From life to death is just a lit cigarette” , she said and the doctors would be left speechless. Mercouri died on 6 March, 1994. She was the first Greek woman buried with honors of Head of State. During her funeral the Broadway theaters and shops were closed, while her date of death designed by UNESCO as a World Day of Culture.

“…I hope to see the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens before I die.

But, if they come later, I will be reborn…”

A flamboyant and very outspoken personality, the “last Greek Goddess” had become a part of history. She fought, she was attacked, she loved and being loved.

She acted, performed and she reached the top. Her deep voice, her big smile, her seductive green eyes, her natural sophisticated blonde hair, her huge hug. She would burst into tears every time she would listen Edith Piaf’s last concert. She was glowing from happiness every time she was into Jules’ hug. She would get mad every time she was listening others calling her homeland’s heritage “Elgin Marbles”. Because, there will never be such things... σ

obσerve

ViewPoint

How Fashion Should Make Us Feel The role of fashion in the psychological formation of the individual.

“If I were permitted to choose amidst the jumble of books that will be published a hundred years after my death, do you know which one I would pick? No, it is not a novel that I would choose inside this future library, nor a history book: which, when it offers anything of interest, is just another novel. I would quite simply pick my friend, a fashion magazine in order to see how women will dress a century after my passing. And these rags would tell me more about humanity’s future than philosophers, novelists, preachers, or scholars.”

Anatole France - French poet, journalist, and novelist Every morning, you wake up, and you put yourself the same exact question, “What shall I wear today?” Or, if you rephrase the subject, you should ask yourself, “What is my mood today?” Either way, our outfits work as a means of communication and expression of our mood at a particular time.

Back in the stone age, Homo Erectus would wear draped animal fur to keep their bodies warm during the cold periods. But at the time of Homo Sapiens, he noticed that the clothes were not only for environmental protection.

But, they could also be used as a means of communication with other human beings.

Through clothes, humans have the opportunity to show their ethnic identity, economic position, and accept or reject the rules of society.

obσerve

31

In the last few years, the fashion industry has become the most crucial curator of every current social issue. Fashion designers express their thoughts and concerns about social-political matters through their designs. Their creations are the primary vehicle of their protest. But, to what extent can fashion be used as a means of protest?

What if this has started to become an outdated use of this form of Art? Undoubtedly, fashion is an art form that makes it inseparably linked to society and any kind of social expression. On the other hand, fashion also has a commercial structure, and to be able to survive financially, it must also achieve specific business goals.

Fashion offers to people, and especially to women, the unique opportunity to declare their political and social views.

Fashion is a vivid and fascinating reflection of popular culture and social trends. The clothes we wear are more than a modest shield from the elements. They declare social rank, status, or political and class bonds or aspirations. Ďƒ

obĎƒerve

Everything is connected.

The only thing we should do is to obĎƒerve.