Palaiologue's latest season collection is NOW OUT and is uniquely inspired by the Arvanite folk dress of the Attica region.
The beautiful red-hued, geometric embroidery motif is characteristic of this network of villages, and was indicative of the wealth and status of a woman’s family: the greater the embroidery, the greater the statement of wealth and excellence.
The Attiki collection has taken this centuries-old Arvanite tradition, and reimagined and repurposed it as a print on sleek and modern scuba fabric because, as always, Palaiologue is a modern take on traditional clothing.
Pictured is the stunning and talented musician Areti Ketime, photographed by the absolutely incredible Nicholas Antonakis, and made up by the wonderful Konstantina Skourou.
SEE the new collection HERE.
Palaiologue, launched in 2021, is a slow-fashion clothing brand created by Greek-American, Vicky Hioureas.
Hioureas was born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles to Greek parents who emigrated from the Peloponnese—Argos and Mani.
Like many Greek-Americans, she grew up nurtured by Greek folk dance, music, and traditions through her local community, and her first experience with Greek folk clothing was when she wore a dress from Metaxades, Evros for a dance competition when she was five.
From then on, Hioureas’ love for Greek dance and folk traditions took root and evolved into a deep interest in the cultural history of the Greek world.
She explained to Greek City Times: “On every trip to Greece, I spent a lot of time in difficult cultural museums in cities, but also in villages, recording and studying local dress, music, and dance.
"At the same time, I was learning how to weave on a loom and embroider from the older women in the villages I visited.”
This passion for the history of local traditions eventually piqued her interest in formally studying classical and medieval Greece, and Hioureas is currently completing her PhD in Byzantine history at Princeton University.
Of course, the name Palaiolgoue is a not-so-subtle reference to the last family to rule the Byzantine Empire: the Palaiologos dynasty.
Her inspiration for starting Palaiologue came years ago when her travels between rural and metropolitan areas in Greece left her wondering why this rich tradition of clothing in Greece was either closed off either in museums or locked in the closets of cultural organisations, which were removed and worn only a few times a year as “costumes” for dance performances.
Hioureas pointed out that Greek music and cuisine has evolved into a fresh, modern context, and its success has been through the reinvention of something traditional.
She created Palaiologue as she wanted to see the “gourmet-ification” that happened for both music and food to hit the world of fashion.
For decades, there was an active turn away from the rural fabrics and dress styles, and Greek women were instead dressing in mass-produced fast fashion, imported from distant countries.
Hioureas proudly states that “we have this incredibly unique, rich heritage that represents the regional differentiation of Greece.
"I think it’s time to rethink the form and function of rural clothes and bring them into a modern context.
"Palaiologue’s designs are reflections of traditional patterns and fabrics of different regions of Greece, but without them looking like I took pieces of ‘costumes’ and added them to a modern outfit.”
And while recently there has been a kind of renaissance in Greek fashion—with a number of companies creating folk-inspired resortwear that have been wildly popular and favoured by Greeks and tourists alike, Hioureas wanted to create something that could be very clearly related to the specific weaving and embroidery motifs of each, separate village and region in Greece.
READ MORE: Fetolia: the Art of Scarf.
