To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kokosolaki’s eponymous label, Ponystep thought a tête-a-tête with a fellow Greek might reveal more about Sophia herself, her future, as well as what it’s like to be a small designer in a sea of big brands. Little did we know that basketball would be the issue of the day!
Kiki Georgiou: So, ten years…
Sophia Kokosalaki: Surprise!
KG: Do you like looking back in a retrospective way?
SK: No, not nostalgically so but I’ve had a very nice ten years, more or less! I’m very happy to work with people that I like and are very loyal and very inspiring so it’s been fun! I’ve had some difficult moments and I will have a lot in front of me for sure in this profession, but at least I’m very happy to come in every morning and do what I like and see my women next door. That makes me happy.
KG: You’ve selected ten iconic pieces to revisit…
SK: Yes, from my winter collection. I selected them as a re-edition because they’re still pieces that look modern and fresh and surprisingly so, and also I was curious to see if I would do them a little bit better now with what I know. But they’re more or less the same...
KG: So, looking back was a pleasant experience?
SK: Yeah! I didn’t want to lose pieces so if I had just one of them I would duplicate, just in case. I’ve lost a lot of samples over the years but I still have the majority of my archive. I love clothes as objects so I try to keep a room with all the archive and maintain them and keep them in an order.
KG: Is it irritating, at all, when you’re still sometimes referred to as “a young designer”?
SK: Bah! No, I’m not irritated by anything anymore! Young…I’m still a little bit left-field, which is a good thing. You know, I’m not a famous famous designer that everybody knows but that’s cool in a way, it’s cool to be a little bit more underground.
KG: Yes but that suits your style and everything that you do.
SK: OK, I want to be popular but I don’t want to be so mainstream that it’s boring.
KG: You’ve created your own little niche over the years, that must be great..
SK: Yes, niche is a good word. Even if I’m growing a little bit I like to remain left-field because it’s a way to keep your integrity and I don’t want to compromise, I don’t want to flood the market with t-shirts! Can I just say something? I’m so desperate and you’re going to laugh but… I was thinking, I have a basketball court next to my house, around the corner, and I am desperate to find a Greek woman that plays basketball! At my age too so not to completely exterminate me! My boyfriend said, “Yeah, that’s easy! You’re going to find a Greek, thirty-something woman in Islington that knows how to play basketball!” Do you play basketball?
KG: No!
SK: I thought of putting a notice in the local newspaper. My boyfriend, who’s English, does not have a clue, it’s like he’s slapping the ball! I’m all ready to play in my black t-shirt and black Bermudas, just like a 16-year old Greek high-school student! I hit the three-pointers and I’m on my own, it’s so sad! I can’t find anybody to play basketball with me and it’s the only sport I like. I just hate going to yoga, last time I went was five years ago and I fell asleep. There’s something narcissistic about sitting in front of a mirror, stretching, which is fine I guess if you’re doing it in a serious way but I just want to throw balls at a basket! And I have nobody!
KG: There must be somebody!
SK: I don’t know. I asked two Greek girls next door but they said, “No, when everyone else played basketball at school I read Vogue!”
KG: Well maybe we’ll put a request on Ponystep: Sophia Kokosalaki wants a friend to play basketball with!
SK: Not a friend, it has to be a competitor!
KG: Wow, you’re tough!
SK: Well, you know, I want somebody to block me, you know? Not like my boyfriend who takes the ball and starts running and I have to explain that you have to bounce it. Yeah, it’s a petition.
KG: I guess I could learn!
SK: Nah, it takes years of practise, I was in the team, you know!
KG: OK. Now, this is all about your ten years!
SK: That’s fine, ten years is a landmark in fashion years.
KG: Isn’t it? Do you think it’s because this is London and people are surprised that an independent designer can make it that long here?
SK: Yes but not only because it’s London, because it’s fashion too. You start off with few means and the stats are against you. Also, if you want to do a project that’s a little bit creative and a little more experimental with craftsmanship rather than what’s cheap or disposable, it’s difficult to maintain your presence for ten years.
KG: How did you do it?
SK: I don’t know! Being very resilient and patient and optimistic.
KG: It’s very clear looking back that right from the beginning you’ve had a focus and a clear idea of your style. Would that be a fair thing to say?
SK: Of course, it’s important to have your style and your identity, that’s what helps you survive, to express something individual and unique, to have a reason d’être as a designer.
KG: Your dresses and especially your draped dresses have really become your signature. Are you happy to revisit them every season because there’s obviously a demand for them?
SK: There usually is a demand yes, but before the last show I hadn’t shown ‘draping’ draping that much. There was, of course, a lot of gathering and hand-pleating but no heavy draping. That was a decision because I’d hate to be pigeonholed. In the end though, it’s my identity, it’s my strength and I’m not denying that I do it well. I do draping and I do leather well. That’s who I am.
KG: That was my next question; you’ve used materials like leather, jersey and tulle regularly.
SK: Yes, because the only things I could find in London back then were silk, tulle and leather so silk, tulle and leather were what I did. And jersey. I didn’t have any access to Italy for fancy fabrics.
KG: I like the way you’re unapologetically celebrating your Greek influences whilst refusing to do so in an obvious, cheesy way. It’s still modern and current…
SK: Well, I’m not a saint!
KG: You’re the patron saint of Greek designers abroad...
SK: Yes, I think I’m a patron saint because I’m very, very Greek. I grew up in Greece, I worked in Greece, I studied in Greece, and when I incorporate any Greek elements I don’t do it in a costume-y way, like Spartacus as I call it! It’s such a fine line that I’m surprised sometimes too because, in the process, I might do something costume-y and I’ll call it Spartacus myself! But don’t ask me what I’m always asked, “do you do draping because you’re Greek?” I don’t think so. I’ve said it before, I didn’t have a formal education as a pattern cutter so when I went to St Martins and landed at the MA course, everybody was very busy cutting fabrics and I didn’t have anything to look busy with, so I draped a piece of fabric on the dummy like “I’m so busy right now!” That’s the reason.
KG: You studied English and Greek literature in Athens?
SK: Yes, and when I graduated I decided I wanted to follow fashion. I didn’t want to go into fashion because there was nothing else I could do. I wanted to buy time, to think about who I am as a person, become more analytical and learn a few things, I was too young to go into fashion at 19. So I finished University at 22 and then I decided I was 100% sure I wanted to do this…little did I know what was coming!
KG: So you weren’t draping little Grecian dresses for your doll when you were five years old?
SK: No, no, my family says I was always drawing but then I think every child draws at that age.
KG: Perhaps the fact that you were a bit older helped you in the long run.
SK: Yes, I didn’t go into it for all the wrong reasons; because I liked the lifestyle or to be famous and hang out with models. I went into it because I was passionate about learning a craft like that and doing it well. And also, I was very interested in the traditional crafts. You know, growing up in Greece, we see all these old women in black, sitting on balconies, gossiping and hand-making stuff - I was exposed to that from when I was eight or nine. My grandmother in Crete used to drag me along to sit with all these ladies, they were trying to engage with me, to teach me how to make something by hand just so I could shut up while they gossiped about the neighbour opposite! But it was really nice, you know, I have such good memories, sitting with them in this light, in the afternoon, the smells…I was attached to the idea of doing things by hand.
KG: Crete is so great for visual references! I’m always surprised that more people don’t look there.
SK: I’m surprised too sometimes. There’s a rich history but not just the Minoan stuff. You know, the men wearing head-to-toe black, I find that very impressive.
KG: Is it true that your great-grandmother was a religious healer?
SK: Oh, you read that? Yeah, she was a healer in Crete, she performed therapies, they called them miracles. I was in Athens when I discovered two books referencing contemporary saints from all over the world and I saw my great grandmother in there! They had a picture of her with my mother as a child! People travelled from everywhere to see her and she had a big estate and gave it all to the Church so people in need could stay there and live off the land…But we can’t call her a Saint because the Church in Greece has to wait for all your living descendants to pass away too or something like that! But I’m happy with just that.
KG: You’ve shown more jewellery recently. Is that something you see yourself exploring further?
SK: Just a little bit. I like things that have a lot of detail and craft and we like to make little things but mostly not for commercial purposes, just for the show and to compliment the collection. We’re not launching a big line of jewellery although I would probably like to do more jewellery. I like to do things by hand, I like the idea of three-dimensional objects, maybe that’s why I like jewellery and shoes. I like making heels, that’s why I design my heels and again, that’s why I like draping, it’s a little bit of a sculptural job…
KG: It has more ‘life’ to it…
SK: Yes, it is organic but it moves when you don’t want it to!
KG: Do you have a favourite piece of jewellery?
SK: Probably my lyra (an ancient Greek music instrument that hangs as a charm on Sophia’s necklace).
KG: Do you remember your first day in London?
SK: That was twelve years ago; I remember the moment, that day I was accepted at St Martins. I was so ecstatic and happy I went to Café Boheme and ordered a beer! I sat outside, on my own, very happy with a big beer and then some random guy started chatting to me! That was the total of how many people I knew in London: one!
KG: So, why London?
SK: Because of St Martins and because of the language. Also, in Paris back then nothing cool was happening with young designers. It was all about London. And it’s where I wanted to live; I don’t think I’d be happy living in Paris. People are more open here and I like the English sense of humour, the sarcasm, how dry they are, I like the stiff upper lip and all that! I like that they’re polite although I did have some difficulties at the beginning, some were a bit apprehensive. When I said ‘I’m a Greek fashion designer’ they thought ‘Oh, my God, Eurovision!’
KG: What are your plans for the next ten years?
SK: To continue to do what I' m doing with the same level of commitment and integrity.
KG.