Olympia Christou

Fascinated by Olympia’s approach to repurposing preloved materials and handcrafting one-off pieces, we learn more about her label and favourite travel destination.

Stepping back into our shoot archive, we revisit one of our favourite colour capsules shot earlier this year for the Escape collection.

It’s Monday, March 28th 2022 and the team gathers at the studio, setting up lighting and prepping for the shoot ahead. Freddie Fredricks on styling and Peter Van Alphen behind the lens.

Our talent, Olympia Christou, arrives, wearing the most exquisitely unique pants, stopping our Creative Director, Brigitte MacGowan, in her tracks. When asked where they were from, Olympia responds with, “These are from my own collection, made from upcycled leather couches”.

In this interview we get to know Olympia, her brand and her most memorable travel moments.

Cultural background and heritage? Italian, Cypriot/Greek, British

When you’re off set where will we find you? In the studio working on my collab label Hydra Opia, with my business partner Karla Laidlaw.

Tell us about the inspiration behind Hydra Opia? To reimagine unloved garments and textiles and create a completely new silhouette from when it was sourced. It’s very pirate/punk/femme-fatale, balanced with unisex pieces to make it versatile and something worth loving again.

What is your design process? It really starts when Karla and I have the materials so we can see which designs work. We spent the entire summer collecting couches then stripping the leather off while on the back of Karla’s ute. Once we had the fabric we started playing around with sampling. We like to use garments that are partly damaged, working around imperfections using what’s left to produce less waste. We want to make everything that we source unrecognisable and reinvent it with our aesthetic. 

Where do you source inspiration from? Initially from designs that I want to wear and can’t find anywhere. Sometimes it’s even a colour I see that day, or a trim on someone’s bag that sparks an idea, that’s why travel is so important. Archival collections for Gaultier, Galliano and Vivienne Westwood have always been a source of reference to me for their use of print, trims and their impact on culture and dress.

What does original artistry mean to you and why is it important? With original artistry you are creating quality pieces made for longevity. For Hydra this means our pieces are one of a kind which is special for the buyer, and most importantly this contributes to the circular fashion economy.