Georgia Chioni - SKiN iT Fashion
Georgia Chioni is not your average designer—she is a visionary force merging cinematic storytelling with bold, sensual fashion design. The mind behind SKiN iT Fashion, Georgia has made waves across international runways with her avant-garde approach, sustainable ethos, and fierce devotion to creating garments that feel like wearable art. With accolades from the International Design Awards and Athens Exclusive Designers Week, her journey is one of passion, persistence, and power. In this exclusive interview, Georgia opens up about her inspirations, creative process, and what it truly means to be a modern designer.
Can you tell us about your journey into fashion design? What sparked your interest in this field?
For me, fashion design is about finding your own identity. It’s a two-itinerary journey οf a learning process: studying and gaining knowledge as well as diving into one’s self. I started this journey with personal styling, as I wanted to enrich my knowledge with regards to costume design and styling in the movies we were making. Although my grandmother was a sewing lady and I was spending time with her playing with patterns and yarns, I did not remember a lot. I was very young, so I had to start fresh again. I continued studying and participating at competitions that brough awards and recognition at international level, such as f.e. the Best New Designer Award at Athens Exclusive Designers Week as well as Bronze Award – Best runway collection at the International Design awards in 2022. Our brand, SKiN iT has since its birth -that is three years now- continues presence at international fashion shows and fashion weeks (Serbia Fashion Week, Budapest Fashion Week, Feeric Fashion Week, Sicily Fashion Week etc)
How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what influences have shaped it over time?
Dynamic, sensual with a flare of sexiness and mystery. I would say that in my collections I integrate various elements, such as f.e., glam rock, punk rock, goth, retrofuturism, atompunk, neoromanism and fetish. Since my first fashion sketch, I knew what I wanted to work on and the elements that would shape my style. A contemporary femme fatale of a neo noir film.
What is your creative process like—from concept to final garment?
For me it’s about crafting dreams, exploring, creating and inspiring. It’s a process of vision unleashing. First, I have the inspiration. What will the thematic be about? I am always looking for a solid and well built thematic. Then I am thinking how I will bring this thematic to life in the best possible way. It has happened once that I started from the fabrics, they were so incredible that I wanted to make a collection using them. This, I think, for a designer that wants to be fully sustainable, is maybe a better way, however it is not always possible. So, once I have the sketches, I imagine how they will look on the catwalk show and try to choose the best fabrics. I do a lot of research, as I aim to find the best. I have some providers I work with and their fabrics have never disappointed me. I check the fabrics closely.Then we work on the patterns. After the patterns are ready, we make pre-samples and a first fitting to see how they look on the model’s body. After that we make the corrections on the garments, this could last up to three weeks maybe. Then, we make another fitting and if the garments require more work, we need and a third fitting. Of course, for the shows we make extra fittings with the styling in order to find out which is the best combination and how they all look like. A tiring, but wonderfully satisfying process. Our own tailored dreams, weaving ideas into reality.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your collections?
I consider myself a quite creative person, who believes that inspiration can be found in anything, one just needs to closely observe. Since I come from a cinematographic background, my first collections were inspired by screenplays that I had written and films we had shot, as I was trying to “bring to life” characters from my plays. My two last collections have been inspired by our mythology (Nine Muses) and history (Byzantium Era). I like to praise female personalities and demonstrate their dynamism, drawing inspiration for crafting timeless collections.
How do you balance creativity with the commercial aspects of the fashion industry?
The collections of SKiN iT are high end fashion garments, bespoke, with a very high artistic vision. We are not a brand aiming at mass production, rather a demi couture, new brand, with an artistic vision that wants to merge the boundaries of cinematic art and fashion design.
What materials or techniques do you enjoy working with the most, and why?
A variety of materials and techniques, trying to be as sustainable as possible: from leather – we try to use ecco leather- to sequins, satin, organic cotton etc. We have also made garments using cork and seashell fabric. In addition, we are huge supporters of zero waste pattern making. There have been difficult garments that we have created, with moulage and sculpting, either on the doll or on the body of the model.
How do you see your designs contributing to conversations around sustainability or social issues in fashion?
Since the first day of my studies, I have been a huge supporter of circular economy, sustainability and social issues related to fashion. It is clear that our planet is over abused and the linear model of consumption that dominates, cannot longer be supported. Although it is difficult for a new designer to enter the fashion business as a sustainable designer, I have tried to embrace it as a dogmatic principle or the brand. To this end, we try to use sustainable fabrics, work with zero waste pattern technics, reuse rest over fabrics, instead of throwing them and work a lot with upcycling. In addition, I cooperate with various institutions here in Greece and have seminars and lectures on sustainability in fashion and how each one of us can contribute to a more sustainable environment. Moreover, we try to educate women on having a more sustainable lifestyle.
What has been the most challenging piece you’ve created, and what did you learn from the experience?
Last year we presented in Serbia Fashion Week a new collection having as a thematic the Nine Muses from our mythology, brought in the modern world. Fabrics were not easy to deal with, garments were difficult to sew and the styling was a huge challenge. As a consequence, the dress that one of the muses was wearing had a very high degree of difficulty, as the belt-skirt consisted of a lot of layers of draped organza. I had estimated that I could need one and a half day for it, it took me almost four, as I had to sew and unsew, until I managed to have the result I wanted. It was a difficult bet. Things don’t always end up as planned, there always have to be a plan B, in case plan A goes wrong. And always be prepared!
Can you talk about a moment in your career that felt especially rewarding or transformative?
Awards and international recognition, as mentioned above, were especially rewarding. The fact that international audience saw a value in my collections gave me joy and satisfaction. At the same time, it gave me the push to get better and improve myself in all ways. A true, powerful motive! If I needed to pick one moment, this would be the award at the International Design Awards in 2022 for the best runway collection-handmade apparel. I also felt extremely happy when I got an invitation for Paris Fashion Week, Haute Couture, and this would be my next dream plan!
What advice would you give to emerging fashion designers trying to make their mark in today’s industry?
In not an easy industry to step in. One would need to have devotion, patience, vision and commitment. It’s a multifold process, as one would need to work on issues related to showing the work to a wide audience as well as becoming commercially viable. But the effort is worth it one hundred percent. So, my advice would be to have dreams, never give up and follow small, safe steps.
Georgia Chioni is redefining what it means to be a fashion designer in the 21st century—fearlessly artistic, fiercely dedicated, and uncompromising in her values. With SKiN iT Fashion, she’s creating more than garments; she’s crafting legacies. As she continues to elevate fashion into an expressive, sustainable art form, the world is watching—and we can’t wait to see where her journey leads next.
Photo Credits:
Fashion: @skin_it_fashion
Model: @sofia_danai_
Assistant: @irenesochou
Assistant: @klairi_geo
Photo: @georgia_chioni
