And Now, We've Found the Best Fashion Brands to Come Out of Greece

Feeling a little bored with your wardrobe lately? A great place to turn to for inspiration can be different cultures. By looking outside of our native countries, we can find styles that are new and fresh compared to what we’re used to seeing everyday. If trying to discover foreign designers—particularly if you've never been to that country before—seems like a grand task, thanks to the plethora of wonderful e-boutiques online, there are curated shops that will take care of this process for you.

One of our current favourites is the Greek Style Council. Acting as a multi-platform project and online store, the Greek Style Council is dedicated to supporting Greece’s local designers and artisans. A selection of carefully curated accessories and clothing showcases the country’s talent to an overseas audience.

It's famous beaches, food, and skincare secrets aside, Greece has always been a central location for design finesse, a skill that has lasted for centuries. If the longevity of Greek style isn’t enough to convince you, a quick browse through the Greek Style Council’s Website is sure to change your mind.

For insight on how the e-boutique was created, and to learn a little bit about the site’s most popular products, we spoke with the projects founder, Helen Tirekidis. Keep reading to hear what she had to say:

WHO WHAT WEAR: What motivated you to create the online store?

HELEN TIREKIDIS: I launched the Greek Style Council because I figured it was high-time to showcase a different side of Greece to Australia (and the rest of the world), a side which we normally don’t get to see. So I brought them all together under one umbrella. I handpick premium designers and pieces which I feel would be interesting to the Australian audience. I tested the waters with a pop-up showroom, resulting in orders for eight retail stores in Australia, and then when the fashion press began hounding me for products to shoot, it just confirmed that I was onto something. It was not originally planned as a e-boutique, and its been organic growth which started as a side-passion project alone. The interest developed over time, and then I suddenly found people were contacting me directly, wanting to buy these amazing pieces directly from me.

WWW: What do you find so inspiring about Greek design?

HT: Keeping in mind over centuries Greece was the hub of sandal and jewellery making, what interested me was, although there was an economic crisis in Greece, Greece was still managing to producing exquisite products, but now there were even more and more artisans doing it and at a whole new international level. Greek designers and artisans, and those who have studied abroad at Central Saint Martins and Parsons are returning to Greece and turning their eye back to their roots and they’re doing sensational work. This applied to not just handcrafted fashion, accessories and sustainable fashion, but also in wine, food, film and design. It's called Greece’s ‘new weird wave’. Fashion is just one side of it, this is why I launched my online store, to spread this wonderful new wave over to Australia.

WWW: Which products have proven to be the most popular for your customers?

HT: Unsurprisingly, the more hand-crafted pieces are doing well. Most popular pieces have been Crochet bags, and bags made from up-cycled sailcloth; and I’ve had three air freights in of polymorphic cardigans!

Shop our picks from Greek Style Council below: