“WISDOM BEGINS IN WONDER”
The Spring/Summer 2020 Mary Katrantzou show is a celebration of Greek heritage, history and culture, exceptionally
shown against the breathtaking backdrop of the ancient Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounion to celebrate the 30th
anniversary of the founding of ELPIDA, the Association of Friends of Children with Cancer, established by Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis. A show in the present, celebrating a past, for a charity which gives hope for the future for thousands of children.
Echoing Ancient Greek belief in the pure power of colour - tied to the humours of the body, and part of the same lifeforce - each outfit is executed in a single hue, including tonal embroideries of feathers, beads and Swarovski crystal. Here, as Plato wrote, “colour is a flame, which flows forth from each sort of body” - Aegean blue, Tyrian purple, the white and black of marble. The collection as a whole is a prismatic, refracted spectrum - a spectrum of both colour and inspiration.
All roads lead to Greece: shoes are Ancient Greek Sandals, handmade locally by skilled Greek craftsmen using traditional techniques that have existed for centuries. Fine jewellery comes from the storied archives of the house of BVLGARI - established and based in Rome, but whose founder Sotirio Voulgaris was born in the mountains of Greece, in another unexpected, unanticipated link. The music to the show has been specially created by the Academy Award-winning Greek composer Vangelis. Indeed, a fil rouge of heritage, tying everything back to Greece, runs through every aspect of culture today.
Those threads inspire Mary Katrantzou: here, she weaves them together to form the fabric of this specially-created collection.
