Vionnet Reimagined

When Athens-born designer Sophia Kokosalaki was asked to create a collection under the iconic name of Madeleine Vionnet, she jumped at the opportunity, though she knew full well that it would not be easy to re-create the look of a designer so many other great designers had copied. "But I consider my aesthetic quite close to hers," says Kokosalaki, whose first collection for the French label debuts at Barneys New York this spring. "Of course, my pieces are less formal, more experimental." So a kimono dress can be reversed, a suede jacket is cut like a pillowcase, and satin is woven in such a way as to look wet. Kokosalaki used only French suppliers like feathermaker Lemarie and embroiderer Lesage, who just happened to have a few samples of vintage Vionnet embroideries to spare.