“Australia has opened their arms to Greek designers, and that’s a great start,” says Greek Australian Helen Tirekidis, who created The Greek Style Council in Sydney. A council which recently showcased, for the first time, a host of Greek fashion designers and brands in a pop-up venture that has proved to be highly successful. As the Marketing and Communications Manager of Longchamps & Hunt Leather, along with a 20 year background of working for luxury brands such as Chanel, Issey Miyake, Giorgio Armani and Jean Paul Gaultier, Tirekidis’ main concern was to showcase the “craftsmanship, sheer volume of talent and innovation” she sees in Greek labels.
Australia has developed a sophisticated fashion market that is, by now, very much centered on high-brow style, but is entirely unfamiliar with Greek designs at this point. “I was tired of hearing only about what was going wrong in Greece,” Tirekidis says, “and I wanted to put the spotlight on what was happening there.” Australians are estimated to spend around 20 billion euros annually on fashion garments and footwear, which means that there isa good possibility that Greek designers can gain a presence in the established global scene through this country.
On October 17, The Greek Style Council opened a temporary wholesale showroom at La Porte Space in Syndney. They welcomed Australia’s top fashion buyers, bloggers, media and other fashion intelligentsia to present clothes and accessories by 24 Greek designers and brands. Each one was selected by Tirekidis according to what she describes as a high standard of craftsmanship and international intent.
“They loved the Greek labels!” she says when asked what the feedback from buyers was. “They were taken aback, and I also reminded them that there are many, many more which are not in the showroom. Fashion presses have been calling me daily, asking to shoot pieces, and we already have Australia’s fashion blogger Margaret Zhang and Romy Freedman wearing some of the designers.”
The most challenging aspect of organizing the showroom was raising the money to launch it. Yet, Tirekidis managed to successfully actualize her original vision nonetheless: “It was hard for me, as I was fighting an up-hill battle without the funds to do right by these designers. In the end, they deserve to be on an international stage and Australia is a start. We are venturing into new territory, and it will take time as sometimes people need to build trust in brands they know nothing about.”
Even so, she is more than confident that in due time her efforts and the unshakable talent of Greek designers will pay off. Meanwhile, Tirekides is also considering other means of spreading the news about Greek fashion – among them an e-commerce space and a documentary. “There are limitless possibilities,” she says, “but we will take it one step at a time.”
