Greg Kadel -

Emily Roesch

wearing

Vassia Kostara

Lace Dress, lace bodysuit: Vassia Kostara, heels: Sergio Rossi, tights: Calzedonia

Blazer, blouse & lace skirt: Vassia Kostara

Bold and instinctive, Vassia Kostara has shaped VASSIA KOSTARA Limited Collections into a refined expression of Greek craftsmanship and quiet luxury. Produced in limited quantities, each piece is defined by meticulous detail, fluid sensuality, and an unmistakable point of view.

At its core, the brand’s handmade prints—each a singular narrative transform garments into intimate, tactile stories. We have featured her collection Guilty Pleasures.

Jacket, lace bodysuits and lace skirt: Vassia Kostara, heels: Sergio Rossi, tights: Wolford

Lace bodysuit & jeans: Vassia Kostara, earrings: Veronique LeRoy, tights: Wolford

Your collections feel deeply anchored in print and surface. When you begin a new season, does the narrative emerge first through image, texture, or a more instinctive emotional impulse?

It always begins with a feeling, something instinctive, almost intangible. An emotion I’ve lived, or a moment that has stayed with me. From there, the image follows naturally, almost like a memory resurfacing. Print and texture are not decorative elements for me; they are the language through which that emotion becomes visible. I don’t separate them—they evolve together, quietly, until they form a coherent story.

Satin romper: Vassia Kostara

There’s a distinct tactility to your work, particularly in how print interacts with fabric and movement. How do you approach the relationship between textile, silhouette, and the body when developing a piece?

For me, everything begins and ends with the female body, honouring it in all its expressions. Movement is essential; a garment must live, respond, and evolve with the woman wearing it. I am deeply attentive to how a fabric drapes, how it embraces the body without restricting it.

All our prints are meticulously created by hand in our studio in Athens, which gives them a certain intimacy. They are not imposed onto the garment; they become part of its movement, almost like a second skin. My work is deeply personal; it reflects my own journey, my experiences. And I feel incredibly grateful that women have connected with that from the very beginning.

Satin romper: Vassia Kostara

Lace bodysuit & jeans: Vassia Kostara, earrings: Veronique LeRoy, tights: Wolford

Handmade prints sit at the core of your visual language, each carrying a singular narrative. What draws you to that level of authorship, and how do you preserve nuance and intimacy as the collection evolves?

Authorship, for me, is about honesty. In a world that often moves very quickly, I am drawn to processes that require time, intention, and presence. Creating prints by hand allows me to stay close to the origin of each idea, to protect its emotion.

Lace bodysuit & jeans: Vassia Kostara, earrings: Veronique LeRoy, tights: Wolford

As the collection evolves, I am careful not to over-explain or over-design. There is power in restraint. I want each piece to feel like a fragment of a larger story while still holding its own intimacy. That balance, between cohesion and individuality, is where nuance lives.

Lace Dress and Bodysuit: Vassia Kostara, tights: Wolford

You come from a rigorous academic and business background, with a Master’s from the London School of Economics; there’s an inherent discipline and foresight in how you’ve built the brand. How did that transition from economics into fashion take shape, and how does that foundation continue to inform your creative and strategic decisions today?

Creativity has always been part of who I am. From a young age, I sought different ways to express myself through dance, photography, painting. When I was dancing, I could never find garments that allowed for true movement while also making me feel confident and beautiful. That absence became the starting point of my first collection.

My academic background gave me structure. It taught me how to build something with clarity and intention. It allowed me to create a brand that is not only creative, but sustainable one that evolves with the woman who wears it. Today, that balance between intuition and strategy remains essential to everything I do.

Jacket, lace bodysuits and lace skirt: Vassia Kostara, heels: Sergio Rossi, tights: Wolford

Your work exists within a framework of limited production, where rarity and intention replace scale. In today’s fashion landscape, how do you define modern luxury through that more controlled, deliberate model?

Modern luxury, to me, is about intention. It’s about creating something that feels considered, not excessive. From the beginning, I wanted to work with small, limited collections not only to preserve a sense of rarity but to maintain a deeper connection to each piece.
A significant part of our production takes place in Greece. Keeping it local allows us to build strong, lasting relationships with Greek artisans, people who bring an extraordinary level of skill, care, and integrity to the process. That human connection is essential; it gives each garment depth and authenticity.

In a world driven by trends and mass production, I am interested in dressing women who value individuality, women who want to feel elegant, but entirely themselves. That quiet confidence that is the true expression of luxury today.

Blazer, blouse & lace skirt: Vassia Kostara

Lace Dress, lace bodysuit: Vassia Kostara, heels: Sergio Rossi, tights: Calzedonia

The current collection; Guilty Pleasures, there’s a compelling tension between indulgence and restraint. What was the initial point of departure for this collection, and how did that translate into your choices of print, palette, and fabrication?

I have always been fascinated by photography, the idea that a fleeting moment can become eternal. Life is made of these small, almost invisible moments. Some we try to hold onto; others we allow to pass and become memory.

Guilty Pleasures explores that tension—the act of letting go versus the desire to capture. Through my lens, I have always been drawn to storytelling, and that instinct naturally translates into my collections.
For this season, I wanted to make that process tangible. The prints are derived from actual negative films—fragments of captured time. The fabrics, like satin and lace, bring fluidity and sensuality to something otherwise still. It’s about giving movement to memory, allowing something static to feel alive again.