The Greek Style Council, presented as “a mutli-platform evolving project, dedicated to supporting Greece’s fashion designers and artisans,” has now entered the virtual realm via an already successful online store.
The initiative, created by Helen Tirekidis, who has a strong background of working with some of the world’s top luxury fashion brands, initially introduced skillfully hand-crafted, innovative and elegant Greek designs through collection presentations and a pop-up store. At the time of launching it, Tirekidis had said: “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.” With the online store, customers globally now have direct access to clothes and accessories (from sandals and jewelry to bags and scarves) created by 20 resort designers. I interviewed Tirekidis to find out all the details of how the online store is going.
Alexia Amvrazi: What has the response to the online shop been like since you launched it?
Helen Tirekidis:I have had a very positive response. I not only am getting interest from Australia, but have now developed a USA and Asian following of people who have signed up to the mailing list. This has faster propelled us to now ship overseas, which I thought would be happening at a much later date.
AA: Who are your main customers at the moment?
HT: Predominately Australian women (and some men) who are well travelled and are seeking unique, qualitative design and something different.
AA: What were the most popular items sold so far?
HT: Bags and accessories.
AA: How did you select these particular designers to work with?
HT: There was a lot of criteria, but more so, I looked at who was producing qualitative pieces, with a story behind the product.
AA: Will you be rising over 20 designers in the near future?
HT: Most likely!
AA: What do you feel defines your brand and how does it stand out from the rest?
HT: Premium well crafted, handmade and unique pieces – exclusively made in Greece. I curate and hand pick pieces that I feel would work in this market.
AA: What are the key challenges of running an online shop, and how have you planned to keep yours going strong?
HT: Challenges are many but include ensuring you are on top of customer experience, website updates, orders, social media. Then of course…correspondence!
AA: Will you be expanding to larger varieties of products sold (eg. books, cosmetics etc)?
HT: I am considering this. But first we need to establish the brand!
