Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Window Shopping in Greece

When Eric and I were in Athens earlier this Fall, we were staying in the area around Kolonaki Square. One night we went went for a walk, looking for ice cream as I recall, and stumbled upon a  high-end boutique selling very expensive purses, boots, wallets, little cases, and even umbrellas, all decorated with original Wizard of Oz artwork.

The store was closed that night but we went back a few days later to take pictures of the window display. The designer handbags and assorted stuff are part of the Leitmotiv Collection from Furla, an Italian handbag company. Here's a bit describing the collection:

"The new Leitmotiv for Furla collection takes us beyond the confines of reality, towards the land of Oz. It tells the story of Dorothy; her enchanted journey, her red shoes and her wonderful encounters through a visionary, playful journey. The prints for this season are colourful, rich with the green of plant life, the blue of streams and the colours of flowers, all inspired by the Land of Oz in an interweaving of fairy-tale-like, surreal motifs. Each print narrates the tale with a juxtaposition of scenes and their protagonists: the house swept away by the wind under the incredulous gaze of the little dog, flying through waters and luxuriant woodlands, little Dorothy floating through imaginary landscapes, her travel companions. Like the backdrops, the characters also evoke the dreamlike language of the Leitmotiv.

"The lion has the body and clothes from times gone by, the tin man is a collage of robotic contraptions and period armour, the scarecrow an intellectual peasant and the child an eighteenth-century young lady. The prints are dynamic and full of movement, suggesting a collection for globetrotters or travellers of the mind. The accessories are all designed to be light, portable companions for adventurous travel. The shoppers are collapsible and soft, the backpacks may be enclosed in nylon wallets and the k-way, a new accessory for this collection, can be packed away inside itself. Old favourites include printed umbrellas, leather gloves and doctor bags with a transparent sphere clasp, decorated inside like a marble, which recalls the Wizard of Oz’s emerald altar. To go home, simply click your heels three times…"

Everything was VERY expensive! Some of the items were over 350 Euros and the cheapest thing I saw was actually the umbrella at 175 Euros! I didn't buy anything. The images are different on each item - though all based on the main representation of each of the four characters featured in the window display below. 


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