Elli Presents Shoe & Accessories Collection Inspired by Ancient Greek Mythology
The captivating Elli Fall/Winter 2019/20 collection, titled “Alagonia,” is a tribute a small village in Heraklion, Crete called Alagni. Athens-born designer Elli Lyaraki presented her artistic shoe, jewelry, and accessory designs, inspired by the origins of Ancient Greek mythology, during this July season of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.
The new Alagonia couture collection includes 15 pairs of numbered handmade shoes that are inspired by the frescoes of Knossos and the Minoan civilization. The designer and her husband started out in the business by setting up a leather workshop where they created handmade traditional-style leather sandals, bags, heeled shoes, flats, and eventually unique jewelry pieces.
“Respective research for the collection was completed in collaboration with the archaeologist Ioanna Kalypso Glypti, as well as with craftsmen who had thoroughly studied techniques used during the 16th century, based on traditional embroidery techniques for handmade traditional Cretan garments, and the famous uninterrupted thread, which cannot be cut,” Elli brand shared in a press release.


“ Moreover, for those entirely handmade shoes, [the designer] worked together with specialized painters who applied the batik technique of wax-resist dyeing on silk, used for the first time on shoes.”


“In addition, silversmiths and goldsmiths created gold jewelry using precious and semi-precious gemstones which were attached on the shoes, as well as the jewelry collections accompanying the shoes,” the brand added of its accessories. “We may see the Gold Bee, which is currently hosted at the British Museum: its eyes are made from rubies for the sandals, from black brilliants for the earrings and from emeralds for the necklace. The bull is made of gold and lapis lazuli, the gemstone used by the Minoans themselves! The collection is completed with pure silk foulards painted through batik on silk. Each pair of shoes is coupled with a handmade silk pouch, inspired by the vourgali, a typically Cretan type of textile bag, where it is embroidered, with an uninterrupted thread, the symbol of Alagonia, a small flower appearing on the Knossos frescoes.”
Click through the gallery below to view photos from the Maria Aristidou Fall/Winter 2019/20 collection runway show at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.






































































More internationally-inspired accessory designs. More designers’ Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week runway shows. All photos provided courtesy of the brand. Copyright: Imaxtree for Méphistophélès