Spotlight #5 : transcending borders with Antoine Antoniadis

Antoine Antoniadis has an exceptional and wide-ranging profile; everything he puts his hand to he achieves with extraordinary success. Born in Paris in 1984 to a French mother and a Greek father, Antoine Antoniadis has a style of his own. Moreover, he transcends all borders. After launching his first business “For My People” at only 17 years of age, he made a name for himself in Greece in the world of graffiti and street art by becoming the first retailer in graffiti sprays.  He then gained a management and marketing qualification at the Royal Holloway College of London, and then attended a fashion design course at the London School of Fashion, where drawing instinctively came back as a leitmotiv at the very centre of his everyday life.

Although he has always lent himself to drawing like a true natural, initially Antoine Antoniadis wanted to become a painter. In fact, it is his talent as a painter that best highlights his eye for color, proportion and composition, which brings each of his creations to life. Then one thing followed on from one another. In no time at all, Antoine Antoniadis met Mrs. Mao (who runs Flou's atelier), he dug out the addresses for the best suppliers, in particular the ones who work for Gaultier, Rick Owens or Hermes, and he hired five model makers and as many apprentices. And, as a final touch, Mrs. Martinez, who currently runs a tailor's workshop, introduced him to Marie-Anne Quinet, who worked closely for the Dior, Nina Ricci and Balenciaga's collections and their eponymous designers for more than 20 years. With all the wisdom of her 84 years of age, this Great Lady of Fashion scrutinized his cuts, designs and figures with a strict and critical eye and allowed the young artist to benefit from her expertise.

His very first fashion show - which took place at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in March 2010 - will be closely followed by a presentation next September.

Antoine Antoniadis always prepares his collections as if they were “a DJ set. One figure transforms into another; I select colors just as I would for graffiti, because to do great graffiti everything must complement each other and be in proportion”.