Boutique draws in art world
The large retrospective of the Balenciaga collection at the Musee de la Mode et du Textile in Paris and the inspiring collection of Nicholas Ghesquiere have helped draw publicity to the Parisian couture house and render its collection one of the trendiest and most-talked about of the season. This is one reason that the fashion crowd may like to visit the refurbished Bettina boutique in Athens. Another is the fact that this Athens boutique, which carries well-known international designers such as Sophia Kokosalaki, Comme des Garcons and Junya Watanabe, is expanding its scope not just by including new designers and trendy brands but by also opening up to art-related projects. Each season Bettina will host an art project and include in its premises works by international or Greek artists. Dimitris Antonitsis, an artist and curator, will be in charge of the selection. Complementing the Balenciaga collection, the boutique currently hosts prints by Dutch photographer Inez Van Lamsweerde. Together with her partner in life Vinoodh Matadin and the M/M Parisian duo, van Lamsweerde has worked for the Balenciaga advertising campaign. Future exhibitions that fall within the idea of marrying art and fashion, include a project that Greek fashion designer Angelos Frentzos has made based on the inspiration he drew from the work of artist Marc Bijl. Planned for the Christmas season, the exhibition will include women’s and mens’ clothing and accessories by Frentzos as well as works by Bijl. Meletis Koropoulis, grandson of the boutique’s owner, aspires to give the boutique a livelier profile and attract a younger audience. For that purpose, he has included new designers and companies such as Superfine, Threeasfour, Jasmine de Milo, Casey Vidalenc, Anne Valerie Hash and Lorena Antoniazzi.
