Hilton Athens Magazine – N.41 by Katerina Papapostolou
”Walking in Athens” is the name of an amazing article that Katerina Papapostolou wrote for Hilton Athens magazine dedicated to Pallados street.
”Where the underground scene flirts with the Italian craftsmanship and intelligent, frequently romantic means of expression clash with the tough mottos of leather jackets, the multifaceted Pallados street lives up to its dynamic reputation.”
And continuous ” On passing though the arcade and reaching the real Pallados Street, you will see, over on your right, a shop window with reminds you of something from an avant-garde shop hidden away down a narrow street in Via Monte Napoleone in Milan. Knowing a little bit about the history of Psyrri, and how it was once inundated with tanneries, it won’t take you long to realise that this store is a treasure chest and you have just lifted the lid. Iride De Portu, the Greek-Italian designer who always welcomes you with a broad smile and reminds you that if there is italian blood coursing through your body, then your feet cannot wear anything less than the very best, is perhaps proof that Pallados Street deserves to be the main Psyri landmark.
Iride said to Katerina ” It’s here that I feel that I am at the nerve centre of the city. An elegant lady passes by balanced on stilettos, at the same time as a loving couple walks hand in hand, both wearing identical waist pouches and shabby Chelsea boots. This is where images are created in my mind and I encounter the people of today. A mosaic of colours, both of skin and of soul, like the shoes and bags which I design.”
Katerina concludes by mentioning Iride’s unique skills to combine heterogenous materials to create shoes and her ability to make non-matching colours look as if they were meant to exist alongside each other.
