It is always sad to write an obituary, but it is sadder to write it for a young and creative spirit like Sophia Kokosalaki. The Greek-born London-based designer died on Monday at 47 from cancer, according to media reports.
Born in 1972 in Athens, Kokosalaki studied Greek and English literature at the local university before moving to London and enrolling at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design where she studied under the late professor Louise Wilson.
In 1999, after graduating from Central Saint Martin's MA course, she launched her own label and tried to combine in her collections a modern sensibility with her classical Greek roots.
Her minimalist designs often featured hand-crafted elements, elegant draping in the Greek style and fluid and flowing silhouettes, but also modern fabrics and materials such as leather, so that the result was a classicism with a dark twist.
Her collections won the heart of many fans and, in the early 2000s, she was among the young designers who promoted a fashion renaissance in London.
In 2001 Kokosalaki started collaborating with Topshop and she then succeeded more famous creative minds such as Raf Simons and Véronique Branquinho as guest designer at leather company Ruffo Research.
In the mid-2000s she moved her show to Paris, and, between 2006 and 2007, she worked at Vionnet, a role that suited her for her passion for draperies, yet the experience wasn't a positive one for the designer.
In 2007 she sold her brand to Only the Brave, Renzo Rosso's conglomerate, then bought it back two years later. She then designed Diesel Black Gold's collections from 2010 to 2012 and created a cheaper line, Kore, sold through Asos.
Kokosalaki also tried her hand at costume design: she was indeed commissioned the costumes for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.
In the show she paid homage to Greek culture, history and myth, with costumes inspired by vases, gods and goddesses, statues, caryatids and friezes.
She injected bright and bold shades in her creations, coming up with colourful costumes inspired by the procession frescos of the South Propylaeum from Knossos, by the frescos of Mycenaean women bearing gifts, the wall painting from Mycenae of the "Lady of Mycenae" and the Minoan snake goddess figurines.
The highlight of that event was singer Björk who performed "Oceania", a track co-written with the poet Sigurjon Birgir Sigurdsson.
For the occasion Björk donned a huge ocean-inspired dress that gave the impression of flooding the stadium with fabric swirls and pleats reproducing the waves.
The recipient of several awards, Kokosalaki had several celebrities among her clients and, in more recent years, she focused on jewellery and wedding dresses that still combined modernity with classicism, but she retreated from the runways. She is survived by her husband and daughter.
