Ada Kamara

A true New Age traveler, she left Paris to discover India, its infinite colors and natural fabrics such as cotton, linen and silk, then ended up at the cosmopolitan island of Mykonos, with the famous clients and a boutique that unlocked for her the path to the French Riviera.

When did you realize that you would become a fashion designer and what was the first thing you did?

When I was 18 years old, I went to Paris for my studies. I took lessons on general design, as I was interested in fashion, interior decoration and photography. By the end of the year, I knew I wanted to study fashion design. I was one of those adolescents who were passionate about fashion, passionate about those great photoshoots in the magazines. I spent hours with my friends on our styling, every time we were about to go out! What to wear was our main concern!

So, next year, I went to ESMOD, a renowned fashion school in Paris. Fashion was great in the’80s, designers had the status of kings, there was no Zara to copy each one of them!

L.S.: How did you end up from Paris to India?

A.K.: One of my other adolescent dreams, and a very strong one, was to visit India! After completing my fashion studies in Paris, I went back to my home town Thessaloniki, and at age 23, I started my first company. I was dreaming of becoming successful and was telling myself that by the age of 45, I would be successful and leave behind all this frantic lifestyle, where production is followed by sampling and new sampling is followed by new production, tofinally go to India!

By the age of 25, I already had a rapidly growing company!

Then, my only business partner decided to pull out. At such young age, I could not handle easily the stress experienced by running a business, so I closed my business and a couple of months later, I was there …in India.

My interest in India was spiritually-oriented. Many years after merely visiting the ashram of my beloved teacher, I finally started a new business, back to my passion for fashion and I was producing everything in India.

L.S.: What was it that liberated your spirit and instead of making fashion as trend, you decided to catch the eye of the New Age travelers?

A.K.: When I was younger, I would follow what fashion dictated. But then again, fashion changed a lot through the years and it became less confined; everybody can follow, or not, the mainstream, and still be in fashion!

So, I started following my instinct; more and more each year, I would trust my kind of choices regarding the fabrics and styles I would prefer. And the collections became timeless andunique.

L.S.: Your outfits experience an endless summer. There is no winter for you?

A.K.: Winter is not at all my favorite season! I really do not like to dress like an onion because of the bad weather. Summer is my season, and for years, I would spend summers in Greece and winters in India, in order to follow the productions. Summer clothes are light and colorful. What I really do not like is that during winter time most the people only dress in black, grey, brown, dark blue or beige…This is so sad…c’est triste! I really do not wish to work with this color palette.

L.S.: Your collections present a hippie chic, which is based however on exquisite artistic skills. Tell us about your paintings on fabric.

A.K.: I really love fabrics; I am passionate about them, maybe because I grew up in my grandfather’s lace factory that included adyeing unit. Every year, I spent some much time in his factory, among the threads, the techniques, the colors and the new designs!

I am not exactly designing my prints but I will check hundreds of prints, only to choose 5 or 6 of them.

Artistically speaking, I also had many teachers, given that since I was 4, I would see all these exhibitions in my mother’s art gallery. So, all these artists were my teachers.

L.S.: What is it that you love the most about your job?

A.K.: I love fabrics, different fabrics; the different weavings, the textures, the techniques and colors applied. There are so many aspects regarding a beautiful fabric.
Together with the fabric comes the realization of the garmentitse lf.
The fabric takes the lead, but I still have full freedom to use it the way wish.

L.S.: Your new project includes mother-daughter outfits. Please, tell us about that.

A.K.: Actually, my garments can be worn by any onefrom the grandmother, to the daughter and thegranddaughter. Since 2012, I started making garments for kids.
I love kids and I love seeing them in my boutique in Mykonos, choosing their favorite dresses! Unfortunately, many times their mothers choose in their place, despite the different choices of their kids, notletting their daughters choose what they like!

L.S.: A part from Italy, where your outfits are already considered very popular, your products have also been placed at the French Riviera, in several points totally harmonized with your mood.

A.K.: It is an immense compliment to realize that compared to any other country,my outfits sell better in Italy, which remains at the top of fashion design.
But, we have been collaborating with boutiques in the French Riviera and Cannes as well.

L.S.: In the end, why will Mykonos always remain at the center of the world?

A.K.: Yes, it will always be a center and this is because of its good fortune of being so close to Delos, the center of light and energy. It cannot be easily compared to many places on earth. Ancient Greeks knew very well where the energy lied, and thats why they designated Delos as the birthplace of Apollo, the place where the God of light and music was born.
Each time I go to Mykonos, even after so many years, its like the first time, it's like going up with the lift to the 10th floor, right away, from the moment I set my foot on it!
Mykonos is really a fortunate place!

L.S.: Is there a proverb that fully represents you?

A.K.: All clouds have a silver lining.

Photos by Mara Desypri , Stratis Kas, Nektarios Papazaharias

Infos:
ADA KAMARA
Showroom , KLEISTHENOUS 9, 10552 Athens , tel + 30 210 5230527

Mykonos shop , Florou Zouganeli 2
84600 Mykonos Greece
tel +30 22890 77245
info@adakamara.com
FACEBOOK , ADA KAMARA
INSTAGRAM , adakamara_collection