Bringing together emerging artists
Elpida Livanou was selected to participate in Morphés Open Plan, an initiative of the Athens Epidaurus Festival that functions as a space for creative experimentation, bringing together emerging artists from different backgrounds around a shared exploration of fashion as both concept and artistic language.
With a background in Theatre Studies, she approaches design through a narrative and conceptual lens, where garments are not treated as objects but as starting points for the creation of images, ideas and symbolic meanings.
Throughout the program she worked through a continuous process of testing and redefinition, where ideas gradually shifted and transformed until they took on their own form. Over time, her work moved away from the logic of clothing and closer to the notion of an artistic installation.
The contrasting elements of the two gods, the Dionysian and the Apollonian, darkness and light, the earthly and the divine, became the source of inspiration for the creation of a New Form. Through this work, Livanou explored the transformation of the body, moving beyond the human dimension and creating a dialogue between the figure and nature. The garment was conceived as a body beyond the body, a new sculptural presence that redefined the boundaries between the human form and its surrounding space.
Livanou created a structure that embraced the body through a corset, while boning extended away from it, creating a sense of distance and transforming the silhouette. She used a dégradé organza in earthy tones, creating the illusion of change and transition. As a continuation of the upper part, she developed a fabric with organic textures, which, together with structural supports, guided the form towards a celestial dimension, moving away from the human body and suggesting notions of darkness and the irrational.
Through volumes and large-scale shapes, the garment carried conceptual references expressed through the words “Light, Escape, Form, Eros”. With this creation, Livanou re-examined the relationship between body and space, as well as the dialogue between the Dionysian and the Apollonian, creating a work that exists between costume, sculpture, and performance.
The creation was worn by actress Eliza Skolidi, who participated in Iphigenia / Voras by Vivian Stergiou. The work was photographed by Kostas Avgouli, capturing the dialogue between the body, the garment, and the space surrounding it.
The project was also featured in Madame Figaro. In an interview with Newsbeast, Livanou described the experience as something beyond a conventional workshop. The program developed through continuous meetings, experimentation, and dialogue, allowing ideas to evolve gradually through a deeper creative process.
As she explains, “It was a demanding project because we were not simply designing clothes, we were creating concepts. Mr. Eleftheriadis guided us to think beyond the human form. Dionysus and Apollo are gods, so we tried to move beyond the garment itself.”
For Livanou, Morphés Open Plan became a process of artistic thinking rather than a purely design-based project, an experience that continues to influence the way she approaches creation, material, and the expressive possibilities of fashion. View full article here.
