Effortless Elegance: Di Petsa Fall 2021 Collection
Image Courtesy: Di Petsa
The Di Petsa latest autumn/winter collection embodies femineity through its celebration of motherhood, displaying truly effortless elegance. Designer Dimitra Petsa expresses her vision of ethereal sexuality through her designs as she seeks to visually convey the power of female love through her work. Her fall 2021 collection I am my own Mother takes feminine maternal love one step further, challenging women to apply this same love to themselves. The collection seeks to showcase the beauty that accompanies comfort, self-acceptance, and vulnerability through designs that celebrate all stages of womanhood. By encapsulating the multifaceted nature of femineity and its surrounding nuances, the overarching theme encourages women to heal their relationships with their own beings before extending love to others.
Image Courtesy: Vogue
Petsa is a Greek, Athens-based designer with a passion for embracing the inherent beauty of feminine sexuality by creating clothing that is both beautiful and wearable. Drawing inspiration from her grandmother, who worked as a tailor and a seamstress, Petsa’s designs are considerate of practicality and are made to fit women comfortably. Furthermore, Petsa returns to traditional Greek design techniques to create ethical garments that honor her heritage. She worked closely with the Lyceum Club of Greek Women to properly design and craft the collection using vintage silks and velvets.
The materials Petsa chose for her latest showcase distinctly reflect her overall vision. Velvet is heavily used to signify the comfort and warmth of a maternal hug, while silk captures the elegance and flow of bodily movement. Returning to the idea of comfort and wearability, a fundamental theme of Di Petsa’s autumn/winter collection is fluidity. The pieces emphasize this focus by working with the models’ bodies to facilitate fluidity, rather than stifle or constrain growth. This attention to the necessity and elegance of movement stems from Petsa’s roots as a performance artist. She can showcase this passion through her designs by coupling her collections with performance art films that showcase the pieces in their ideal form, in motion.
Image Courtesy: Di Petsa
Her background in performance art heavily influences Petsa’s relationship to clothing in general, for she views clothing as “a costume to our own performance” as we simply live. In this way, Petsa’s collection and performance art are unashamedly sensual without retaining sexist undertones. I am my own Mother evolved from a full moon ritual hosted by Petsa, which focused on using water to connect to the inherently fluid feminine energy. This connection to energy and fluidity allows Petsa’s work to embrace nudity without oversexualizing the female body. Her work is, rather, a love letter to womanhood. It is a declaration of all the love women have to give to both others and themselves. “Every form of love exists within you – platonic love, sexual love, maternal love, friendship anything”, explains Petsa, and her collection radiates this sentiment. By embracing all aspects of feminity and committing to the creation of ethical and sustainable garments Di Petsa as a brand fully represents effeminate energy in an inspiring and all-encompassing way.
Image Courtesy: Strike FSU
Strike out,
Writer: Annamarie Simoldoni / Editors: Faveanny Leyva & Lexi Fernandez / Graphics: Madison Dodd
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