ATHENS, Greece
(Kostas Tsironis/files/Associated Press)-these files are photos taken on Sunday, October 23, 2011, models present clothing by fashion designer Nektarios Elias Mertios for Greece Athens exclusive designers week in Athens. Greece in crisis, but it is difficult to say in Athens fashion week, which showcased a collection of spring and summer of 2012. “Keep Greece Fashion in your heart,” is the motto, hard ask in the country on the brink of financial collapse. But the model on the catwalk and the glitterati on the red carpet did their part. Dress shimmered, lipstick glistened. Pink cocktail flows, courtesy of the sponsor.
In Greece, the closed shop, unemployment is climbing, evaporating pensions and those protesting. Saving rules. Foreign loans, foreign investment is not the norm. Some of Greece have the means or inclination to splurge on clothing, especially underwear are tailored to your personal taste.
The scope of the Fashion elite rich, but her struggle and even adapt the mess Greece mirror other economic sectors mired. Unlike some of the industry of Greece, fashion never enjoyed true promotion by the State, as in France or Italy, powerhouses and most designers lack strong production base for their portfolio.