The lockdown, the isolation, the loneliness and the changes in our daily routine, were the driving forces of the designer Magdalini Kleio Eftaxiopoulou that resulted in her new summer collection under the brand m.k.e, characterized by positivity and optimism for the future. The collection that has been named “Platia Amerikis” derived from the well-known square in central Athens, and it strives to project a new kind of getaway.
The names of the product categories were given street names that surround Platia Amerikis and the various locations where the photoshoot took place.
This collection is based on abstract prints with vibrant colours that create 3D illusions through different depths and textures. The main goal is to project a care free summer mood. The collection includes bucket hats in 5 different prints – a new product of the brand m.k.e -, the popular beach towels and face masks, a must have accessory nowadays. These three product categories represent a “beach starter pack” that can include either monochromatic tones or mix and match combinations, as desired.
The concept of the photoshoot might appear on surface to be “summer in the city”, but it is something deeper and purely connected with the emotions that we all felt during the quarantine days over the past year. Due to these uncertain times, the main idea is the getaway. Not the getaway through our physical transfer to the beach, but by transferring the activities of the beach to spaces in a house in the center of Athens. By setting our fantasy free, the terrace becomes a deck for dives, the laundry room becomes the locker room, the kitchen becomes the deckchair for tanning sessions, the veranda becomes the observatory for the life guards. Realism commingles with illusions, creating a surreal situation like the one that we lived through the past few months.
The meaning of this campaign, that is based on contradictions between outdated postwar architecture and the brightness of the product categories, can obviously be interpreted as each desires.
Let’s all enjoy a colorful surreal summer!
