The Athens-based fashion partnership present their A/W 09 collection in a film by Janos Visnyovszky.
TextSusie Lau
“Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom. Sophia is the Divine daughter who receives from her Pygmalion all the accumulated knowledge, which helps her to begin her own creative journey. Through this procedure, all laws of creation are renewed.”
With this blurb in mind, a meandering interaction between Sophie and Pygmalion plays out in this film by Janos Visnyovszky showcasing Filep Motwary and Maria Mastori’s A/W 09 collection. Motwary’s ethnic but contemporary silhouettes are as usual in synergy with Mastori’s bold jewellery, adding power to Motwary’s soft layers of silk organza and taffeta. We speak to designer and blogger Motwary about the conception of the film as well as all things Hellenic.
Dazed Digital: Why did you choose to present your collection as a film?
Filep Motwary: Presenting our work as a film was an idea Maria and I shared long time ago. This season, we felt it was the right moment for various reasons, some of them quite personal. On the other hand, the global financial crash in a way put us under its influence. We couldn’t be frivolous this time. It wouldn’t be right.
DD: Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration references behind the collection?
Filep Motwary: The inspiration comes from the Hungarian history of the 1900’s. A number of women were paid to dress as dramatic as they could and cry at people’s funerals to give the dead a powerful farewell. The famous, colourful kalocsai folk-costume, which abounds in flower motifs, was our main outline for the clothes. We went through another direction in terms of colour and pattern. Maria’s forms for her Jewellery came from the bugaci shepherd masks.
The video was filmed by Hungarian video artist Janos Visnyovszky and we had two very special women as the main characters: Mara Desypri and Natalia Ramanava.
DD: Where do you think Filep Motwary and Maria Mastori stands in the Greek fashion landscape?
Filep Motwary: This is a good question. You see, Maria and me are two designers working as one, who follow the heart and their instincts. Each time we do the opposite, the result is quite mediocre, at least as we see it. Doing so, doesn’t necessarily mean commercial success.
We have a lot of press, stylists from great magazines supporting us (local and abroad) but we are not considered as trendy here. We are the contemporaries of Athens. This has to do with the fact that the Greek mentality of fashion hasn’t yet achieved a complete identity like the Belgians or Japanese. Although there is a lot of talent around, we are not sure about where we stand as Greeks on the map of world’s Fashion, at least not yet.
DD: You have worked with Mastori for a long time now - why is it that your clothes work so well with her jewellery?
Filep Motwary: We share the same space for almost five years now. We know each other for almost ten. I met her while I was first assistant designer for Maison Loukia, a Couture House in Athens. She was freelance designer for the House’s Jewellery. We silently became friends. Her work was in my heart since day one. When I decided to leave for Paris, she was my greatest support, like a mother almost. I stayed in France for a year working as an intern at Galliano and later at Chloe and Maria would travel to Paris to see me at weekends. We love each other, we like the same things, read the same books, most of the time without knowing it.
It is natural that my clothes are a continuation of her jewellery and vice versa.
CREDITS
Mara Desypri as the Pygmalion
Natalia Ramanava as Sophia
Fashion Editor Nicholas Georgiou
Music Costas Argiriou, Othon Mataragas
With this blurb in mind, a meandering interaction between Sophie and Pygmalion plays out in this film by Janos Visnyovszky showcasing Filep Motwary and Maria Mastori’s A/W 09 collection. Motwary’s ethnic but contemporary silhouettes are as usual in synergy with Mastori’s bold jewellery, adding power to Motwary’s soft layers of silk organza and taffeta. We speak to designer and blogger Motwary about the conception of the film as well as all things Hellenic.
Dazed Digital: Why did you choose to present your collection as a film?
Filep Motwary: Presenting our work as a film was an idea Maria and I shared long time ago. This season, we felt it was the right moment for various reasons, some of them quite personal. On the other hand, the global financial crash in a way put us under its influence. We couldn’t be frivolous this time. It wouldn’t be right.
DD: Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration references behind the collection?
Filep Motwary: The inspiration comes from the Hungarian history of the 1900’s. A number of women were paid to dress as dramatic as they could and cry at people’s funerals to give the dead a powerful farewell. The famous, colourful kalocsai folk-costume, which abounds in flower motifs, was our main outline for the clothes. We went through another direction in terms of colour and pattern. Maria’s forms for her Jewellery came from the bugaci shepherd masks.
The video was filmed by Hungarian video artist Janos Visnyovszky and we had two very special women as the main characters: Mara Desypri and Natalia Ramanava.
DD: Where do you think Filep Motwary and Maria Mastori stands in the Greek fashion landscape?
Filep Motwary: This is a good question. You see, Maria and me are two designers working as one, who follow the heart and their instincts. Each time we do the opposite, the result is quite mediocre, at least as we see it. Doing so, doesn’t necessarily mean commercial success.
We have a lot of press, stylists from great magazines supporting us (local and abroad) but we are not considered as trendy here. We are the contemporaries of Athens. This has to do with the fact that the Greek mentality of fashion hasn’t yet achieved a complete identity like the Belgians or Japanese. Although there is a lot of talent around, we are not sure about where we stand as Greeks on the map of world’s Fashion, at least not yet.
DD: You have worked with Mastori for a long time now - why is it that your clothes work so well with her jewellery?
Filep Motwary: We share the same space for almost five years now. We know each other for almost ten. I met her while I was first assistant designer for Maison Loukia, a Couture House in Athens. She was freelance designer for the House’s Jewellery. We silently became friends. Her work was in my heart since day one. When I decided to leave for Paris, she was my greatest support, like a mother almost. I stayed in France for a year working as an intern at Galliano and later at Chloe and Maria would travel to Paris to see me at weekends. We love each other, we like the same things, read the same books, most of the time without knowing it.
It is natural that my clothes are a continuation of her jewellery and vice versa.
CREDITS
Mara Desypri as the Pygmalion
Natalia Ramanava as Sophia
Fashion Editor Nicholas Georgiou
Music Costas Argiriou, Othon Mataragas
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