Fetolia deals exclusively with the wonderful.
Made from the world’s finest pure silk materials, with finely rolled hand finished edges and immaculate attention to every single detail, Fetolia’s luxury limited edition scarves are exclusive designs inspired by history, nature and ethnic influences, including some beautiful Greek-themed designs such as the aptly named ‘The Olympian Gods’, ‘Evzonas’ and ‘The Abduction of Europa.’
Throughout the years, the scarf has been a coveted fashion accessory, worn by some of the most influential style icons around the world such as Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
Worn in multiple ways depending on the wearer’s outfit, taste and occasion, scarves continue to be worn around the shoulders, or as a neckerchief or headscarf. They can be tied onto handbags or used them to complete a ponytail hairstyle – the options are endless as long as your imagination is alive.
Since she was a little girl, Tonia Ekonomou always dreamed about making the perfect accessory, hand finished from pure silk and finely rolled. Until one day she did just that.
“At Fetolia, we dreamed that we could make the imaginary accessible…
…we dreamed the perfect accessory, hand finished from pure silk and finely rolled…
And so we did.”
The 31 year old founder and creator of Fetolia is also a Director of Sales at a Hotelier company based in Greece. Some days you can find her analysing and promoting the hotel business whilst on others she is busy working organising and arranging all that is needed for her business Fetolia, which she established at the beginning of last year, 2020.
“I remember when I was a little girl on a trip with my mother to a textile fair in Paris. On the wall of a French restaurant I saw the picture of gorgeous Melina Merkouri wearing a head scarf, next to her husband and it stuck in my mind,” remembers Tonia.
“She looked so beautiful and self-confident. That moment was crucial for my future.”
After travelling to many countries over the years, Tonia was able to focus on her love for the fashion industry – a love that had been inherited from her family who has been in the textile business for ages.
“This is how the idea of Fetolia was born,” says Tonia.
“To be honest, there was always inside me the strong love for the textile art so I’ve spent the last years learning everything there is to know about the fashion scarf industry, from the unique prints, especially designed for our brand by selected artists, to special textile materials such as the exceptional silk qualities we are using for the production of our scarves.”
“With our unique proposition of exclusive, top quality scarves, my team and I at Fetolia are here to revolutionise fashion designer scarves for men and women.”
In just two short years the Athens-based Fetolia’s scarves have already received an overwhelming response from clientele not only in Greece but also internationally – particularly in the United States, Australia and in the Middle East – and has been featured in the May, June and July August 2021 editions of prestigious lifestyle and fashion publication, British Vogue.
Sold both in Fetolia’s online shop and by stockists in Greece and internationally, Fetolia’s exclusive selection of handmade 100% pure silk scarves are timeless pieces of art that can be worn or framed.
Within the unique range of intricate designs there are number that are inspired by Greek history and mythology. The design process firstly involves a lot of research focus on the main character or theme.
“Fetolia is very often inspired by Greek history and mythology plus nature and creatures that have a significant meaning. It is so exciting to bring back memories from all the books I have read, remember persons, fights, gods, places, mountains and so on,” says Tonia.
“The ancient Greek myths have been a great source of inspiration in art and literature since antiquity and continue to inspire authors, artists, and filmmakers to the present day.
“For those unfamiliar with the various characters that populate the myths, it can be confusing to keep track of the many versions of their origin stories and the connections between the characters. The Gods, Goddesses, 9 muses, Odysseus, Troians, monsters, and so many other characters have been a case study for many cultures.
“Sometimes I struggle to get inspired,” admits Tonia when asked about the process from inspiration to design to final production.
“We firstly discuss with our design team and put different ideas on the table. Then we make the ideas sketches, and this is the time that long discussions start, driving us late into the night without decision after which we have to come back again with new proposals. If we all don’t agree at the same time, it means the idea is not good, and will not attract our clients. This process can take up to two to three weeks until one day we see a sketch and we are all astonished! Then, YES this is the one!”
The next step is to draw the final sketch and position all the elements. To do this right, Tonia emphasises that it is absolutely necessary that all of the relevant information about the subject be studied.
“For example,” says Tonia, “to produce our design “secret garden” we had to read the homonymous book, which is a very touching story. It is important to pass the emotions on each one of our designs.
“Our knowledge of the character that we put on a piece of fabric should be very deep otherwise the result will not be the expected one.
“We have chosen to do only authentic and unique designs on our scarves. It might seem easy but the truth is that it is so complicated.”
Recently, while travelling in Crete for the summer, Tonia was inspired by the myth of Europa and Zeus and decided to dedicate a scarf on this great story which told of the God Zeus falling in love with Europa and wanting to take her away from her family to live with him.
One day while Europa was wandering amongst her father’s herds of cattle she saw a white bull. Unaware that Zeus had turned himself into the bull to trick her, Europa climbed onto his back, after which he quickly jumped into the sea and carried her away from her homeland.
“It is always exciting to start a new design from the beginning, work on them and make them perfect as we have in our minds.”
“Firstly we decided on the idea and then we had to collect information regarding the original myth and the best pictures that actually illustrate the authenticity of the Cretan mythology.
"We then discussed with our team of designers and they began to insert our thoughts into their pictures.
Once the design has been finalised by the artisans, the next step is production, which is restricted to limited editions of each design so that the Fetolia style can remain authentic and unique.
“Once the scarves have been digitally printed, we proceed to the sewing,” says Tonia. “We fix the edges and make sure all the threads are well protected.”
“Afterwards we finish the production when we finely roll the edges by hand in order to create the perfect result and maintain high value and quality of our product.”
The team at Fetolia are always creating and have recently launched a new product - a 33cm by 33cm pocket square for men - with the Evzonas design.
There are also a number new and beautiful designs in the works that are scheduled to be presented very soon, including one entitled ‘Medusa’s flower’, dedicated by Fetolia to the much-needed cause of ending violence against women.
Fetolia: the perfect Christmas gift for your loved one
Fetolia scarves are long lasting, luxury accessories that will complement all of the outfits in any wardrobe, all year round. Each scarf is elegantly packed in an individual box, and shipped by express courier straight to your door.
Buy now in time for Christmas!
Website: https://fetolia.com
Instagram: @fetolia
Read also: Dior’s Ode to Milos
