Aptform: Japano-Hellenic fashion fusion

Dressing not just bodies, but states of mind. For Michail Gkinis, designer at aptform, this is possible. His garments merge artisanal excellence with elaborate materials where from follows function.

Fascinated by the thought of the Bauhaus artistic movement, the fashion designer from Thessaloniki aspires to create garments with their own raison d'être.

Michail Gkinis's philosophy is an amalgamation of 4 idiosyncratic elements: the green nature of Greece, the smoke and colour palettes of Japanese industry, the elusive human values which unite the two cultures and the interstices that separate them.

A philosophy that marries the certainty of experience with innate creativity and which Michail has translated in the motto: “wear-feel better-think better-act better”.

Featuring high-tech fabrics, obtained by intricate manual processes, Gkinis' collections are enveloped by an iconoclastic aura in their artisanal passion and at the same time directed towards the future.

Since 2006, Mr. Gkinis moved to Japan, where he set up his label, aptform, in 2007. The fashion designer produced the majority of materials in person, with the guidance of Japanese craftsmen.









Photos via aptform.com

20 April 2011