Kéntima Jacket

Category: Apparel

The Kéntima jacket was the jumping off point for my senior collection, Kéntima. The inspiration for the garment came after I found my grandmother's 50 year old book of traditional Greek embroidery patterns for cross stitching. I was inspired to give these traditional patterns for a dying craft a new purpose, after taking them for granted all my life. I translated those motifs into digital patterns, and burned them into the surface of the leather. Growing up in a greek household reusing and repurposing were instilled in me from a young age which is reflected in my use of only deadstock and damaged leather. My hope is that by engraving the leather it reflects a similar idea of permanence as heritage engraved in humans. For this jacket I chose to translate the last embroidery pattern my grandmother was working on before she passed away, unfortunately parts of it were unfinished which I wanted to reflect in the sparsity and placement of the motifs on the jacket. The silhouette of the jacket is reflective of the traditional Greek Folk dress I used to wear while performing traditional dances. I also wanted to reflect the feeling of strength and confidence I had while wearing so many layers, it was almost like armor. My hope was to create a piece that showed the strength and value of tradition so that future generations understand the importance of carrying these crafts forward so they are not lost to history books or archives.