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It is safe to say that the Anastopoulos sisters enjoyed playing
dress up as well as ‘Take a Giant Step’ as children. However, they
invented their own rules as they went along, artfully reconciling
shoemaking craftsmanship of the past with the modern woman's desire
to speak through her shoes to communicate confidence and individuality.
However, don’t ask them to name names. After all, their rules involve
following their own lead rather than familiar icons or ubiquitous
celebrities.
‘There are many important shoe designers, but we don’t
have a specific muse,’ declares Aritsa, the design half of the team.
‘We admire the manufacturing of some, while in others, designs attract
our eye. Ideally, we strive to continuously approach our lines with
great design creativity combined with high-quality assembly.
‘Our
inspiration is the everyday female that works and wanders the world
around us. Fashion icons can change rapidly, while our fashion inspiration
has its roots in what a woman wants in elements of fit, quality,
design and style.’
As Aritsa explains it, having grown in the factory
started by their grandparents and, later, managed by their parents
inevitably led to a lot of creative experimentation, especially
as they had a vast variety of materials, colours and small decorative
objects at their playtime disposal. The childhood game of “dress-up” in turn inspired ideas that stayed with them, and led to ideas
for their first collection. It also prompted them to keep the family
business going, but have it take steps in bold directions.
continued below
‘It is our strong belief that we stand out due
to our willingness to be daring in design, liveliness, playfulness
and innovation,’ says stylist sister Valia. ‘We take a classic
Greek design, like the Gladiator sandal, and put a new twist on
it by adding Swarovski crystal studs, silver hardware and ornate
elements to make it a modern fashion statement. The time for a breakthrough
has come and we are really proud to participate.’ continued below  
‘It was a personal choice to keep our business
family-based, in order to be able to support a unique quality, customer
oriented approach,’ agrees Aritsa. ‘We grow in a pace
that is always one step beyond the market need without losing our
roots. By remaining small, we adjust easily to our business needs
and the needs of the market-place. As everyone knows, economic times
are tough in Greece right now and by remaining small but building
a large international network, we can maintain our business and
ride the waves of the up and down Greek economy.’
Aritsa notes that the inspiration for Sorelle materials is Greece
itself. ‘The sun, sea and breezes remind us daily to stay close
to nature,’ she says. ‘Through our creations we try to
awaken all senses and create a warm feeling of nostalgia for pure
and natural elements, while at the same time, use exciting and daring
materials. We have wonderful sourcing partners in Italy for leathers
and in other parts of the world for our component pieces like Swarovski
crystals and the handmade metal adornments. The embellishments of
our footwear really set Sorelle apart and why we use the term, “Jewellery
for Your Feet” as our tag line.’
Though the heart of Sorelle is Greek, the soul is global. The sisters
make numerous journeys around the globe and participate in a great
variety of important trade shows, events and exhibitions. This year,
they are making the leap beyond Europe and the Asian continent to
bring Sorelle products to the United States and other
global markets. ‘This will be accomplished by marketing the collections
through the internet and and expanding their marketing reach into
Hollywood and the international fashion market through strong efforts
by our US counterparts who are actively creating our marketing
and brand strategy to begin building Sorelle into a major global
fashion brand.’ However, they insist the best marketing testimonials
come from consumers at the grass roots’ level. continued below
‘Our upcoming collections will remain on track with earlier
designs,’ points out Valia. ‘Our colour palette is more
neutral with beige, black and white being the main feature. We are
experimenting with new types of adornment with the Swarovski crystals
and through our fantastic metal workers. Our biggest selling styles
in Europe are always sandals and flats, but now that we are branching
out into the US market, we are sure to see a larger demand for
heels and are planning some new styles to meet demand.’
Though the sisters share a common passion for fine design, quality
ingredients and a fashionable wardrobe, they believe the strong family
ties will enable the line to thrive and not only weather Greece’s
economy, but also different economic and fashion climates around
the world because they literally have each other.
‘We really function as one person, which brings us often to
a dynamic argument that sparks creation to enlighten our path of
future designs,’ muses Aritsa. ‘We also have a parallel
taste, values and goals that outline the code of how we create and
operate. In other words we truly are two sisters, biologically,
philosophically and creatively, and that is what Sorelle
stands for.
‘The soul of our company is our family relationships,
which help ground us in business to create strong relationships
with our suppliers, retailers and customers. We use these relationships
to help make Sorelle products outstanding in the footwear fashion
industry.’ • |
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Elyse Glickman is US west coast editor of Lucire.
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