Christiana Vardakou is a textile designer based in Athens, Greece. She completed her studies in Textile Design at UAL: Chelsea College of Arts, specialising in Printing and Dyeing and becoming part of the “Slow Design” movement.
After graduating, Christiana planned a textile research trip around South East Asia, where she travelled to seven countries, and completed courses, seminars and workshops in traditional natural dyeing, weaving, appliqué, embroidery, batik and eco-printing. After this trip, Christiana decided to move back to Greece. She opened her own studio, a workspace full of colours, and start her own brand, the only one in Greece that uses exclusively naturally dyed fabrics.
The studio and showroom is a place where someone can see the whole process of production, from the natural dyeing of yarns, the hand weaving on looms, to pattern cutting garments and the sewing of clothing, homeware items and accessories. Christiana also teaches different workshops there, such as batik, bundle dyeing, introduction to natural dyeing, trying to pass down her knowledge and keep the tradition of natural dyeing alive in Greece.
The brand’s homeware and clothing collections share a story and celebrate slow processes, natural materials, aesthetics, the combination of the old and the new, the modern and the traditional. Each piece is individually designed, hand-crafted and can be fully customisable. A philosophy that the brand follows is to prevent excess stock, therefore the collections are limited. However, the designer and her team, following the Emotionally Durable Design theory, try to encourage customers to place custom orders, becoming part of the design process, choosing materials, colours and creating a relationship between the item, the customer and the designer – this promotes longevity and can transform the items to loving heirlooms, something to protect, take care of and pass on.
Christiana and her team use only biodegradable organic fabrics and yarns that are all hand-dyed in the studio using plants (roots, flowers, leaves and barks from trees), and techniques such as batik, bundle dyeing, eco-printing, shibori to create one of a kind patterns. The collections aim to encourage sustainability and conscious consumption — going against fast fashion and the throw away culture.
Except from the brand’s collections, the designer and her team collaborate with other fashion brands, with architects and interior designers, event planners, museums and hotels, creating unique items. Christiana also collaborates with organisations like Onassi Stegi, SNFCC, British Council, the Benaki Museum, the Ethnological Museum of Thrace and the Interactive European School for talks, workshops, seminars and other activities to promote sustainability.
Christiana’s world is dreamlike. Her items are timeless products that are sustainable, ethical and unique — made for those mindful of the value of time, craftsmanship and the environment.