Design collective Greece Is For Lovers turns sacred symbols into satirical furnishings, while interpreting how religious manifestations can exist within popular culture without outright subversion. Gentlemen, behold the Vanity Faith Collection.
Yes, whether we want to admit it or not, we live in a rather religious society. Design studio Greece Is For Lovers, motivated by this and inspired by the excessive visual language of the Orthodox clergy, presents the Vanity Faith collection, aiming to explore the symbolisms associated with church authority and hierarchy. Commenting on religious manifestations within popular culture, “Vanity Faith” introduces the “Unorthodox” into the domestic environment. It is a series of floor and table lamps which are designed based on the orthodox priests’ hats (kalimavkion) featured as lampshades. Similar mentality stands for the tissue-box made of iroko wood.
[infobox bg=”darkgray” color=”black” opacity=”on” subtitle=”Conceived at the foot of the Acropolis hill in Athens, Greece is for Lovers have been avidly producing and exhibiting their products worldwide, since 2006. The creative minds behind it have introduced a new sense of “Greekness” to contemporary product design, by mixing up a concoction of their country’s spiciest ingredients:humor, irony, nonchalance and extravagance. Inspired by the stereotypical notion of what is widely held to be Greek, their designs comment on habitual activities and behavioral patterns both of the past and the present. Unwilling to compromise, the G.I.F.L. trademark aesthetic sits comfortably in the controversial area between luxe and kitsch. Greece is for Lovers are Thanos Karampatsos and Christina Kotsilelou.”]About Greece Is For Lovers[/infobox]And behold the set of desktop and floor lamps, featuring traditional orthodox priests’ hats as lampshades. The hat, or Kalimavkion (Greek: καλυμμαύχιον), is an integral part of the clerical attire worn by Orthodox Christian church. Furthermore, it is a symbol commanding social respect towards the clergy. For the V.F. series, the hats have been recreated in a slightly oversized scale, thus maintaining the ‘somber on the outside – lush on the inside’ quality of the originals. In strict accordance to tradition, they are handmade in felt, satin and leather by a specialized Athenian artisan and the shades are suspended by fabric-coated cables, encased in powder-coated steel frames.
As for the wooden tissue box… It’s an up-scaled, ironic and slightly morbid take on a disposable and rather mundane object. The Vanity Faith tissue boxes are cnc-milled in solid iroko wood, then hand–waxed, featuring a Crucifix-like slit for smoothly dispensing tissues. But careful though: there is only a limited edition of only fifteen numbered tissue boxes available for purchase, so if you fell in love, simply hurry up.
All images were shot by Nikos Alexopoulos.
