Beyond McFashion: Inside the Colorful, Irreverent World of Kostis Von Kas
From David Bowie dachshunds to Daniel Craig sightings, Athens’ coolest designer is staging a vivid rebellion against corporate fashion cop-outs
Color takes courage.
You won’t find much at today’s McFashion emporia like Zara and TJMaxx.
But if you’re in for a little overdue colormaxxing listen up, because Athens’ hottest designer fashion boutique is…Kostis Von Kas.
We were enticed by the lemon yellow storefront of Kostis’s larger shop in the Mets neighborhood. It’s basically across the street from the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Not a shopping neighborhood, but a ‘hood of grand vistas.
We stepped inside and were immediately impressed by the range of shirts and (for the ladies) blouses with bold cuts and refreshing pops of color. An interesting, custom-curated selection of fragrances too.
Kostis Von Kas, Ardittou 10, Athens. Tel. 2109228563
The new Nuance shop (pictured above and below) is in a much busier, more congested part of town — also the one that it’s more likely you’ll be walking by on your to or back from a day of sightseeing around the ancient Agora or after lunch in Monastiraki or Psirri.
We were immediately struck (not literally, silly) by the immense glass door entrance which made us think of the iconic Comme des Garçons storefront on West 22nd St in New York’s Chelsea — and in fact, Kostis tells us that was his inspiration for this unique portal to a world of Greek fashion you never knew existed.
But we did!
Kostis is proud dog dad to three delightful dachshunds and employs one as logo motif on some his T-shirts (with a brash Ziggy Stardust-style twist). We fell in love with Kostis’s unusual Athens map T-shirts, and wish we’d have thought of them first.
An irreverent interplay of patterns and fabrics — think casual men’s tops with dress shirt elements woven in, or a short-sleeve button-down shirt with a pattern of fur or a leather jacket that looks like a Levi’s denim jacket from afar — and a visible refusal to pander to corporate-look stereotypes. This is nothing less than a new fashion philosophy.
Very Greek. Very now.
No wonder Daniel Craig just popped in to make a few surprise purchases.
Kostis Von Kas, Voreou 10, Athens. Tel. 2103217354
