Daphne Valente was born in Athens Greece and shares her birthday with two iconic designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Karl Lagerfeld.
Studied fashion at F.I.T. in N.Y. and St Martin’s in London and has been using pleating in her collections since 1985 inspired by Mariano Fortuny and her Greek roots.
The journey to discover her personal style begun upon a visit to the Brighton Museum, on her first year at St Martin’s, while viewing the exhibition of Mariano Fortuny. A very familiar and unbelievably beautiful world of pleats was opened before her eyes and the incentive to follow this creative path was born.
Starting with a rectangular piece of fabric, like the Chiton of her ancestors, every design is sculpted on the dress form and sketched later. Using the fewer possible seams, no fasteners and no unnecessary ornaments she lets the fabric flow, allowing the body to enjoy freedom of movement and comfort.
Her designs are one size, timeless, season-less, without any age or body shape discrimination. She uses Ancient Greece as a reference, creating minimal, contemporary, sculptural clothes that tend to capture the attention with their understated elegance.
Daphne is a supporter of slow fashion and her collections are crafted by her own team, using a technique that took years to master, involving a lot of fabric manipulation and endless hand sewing resulting to the description of her style as affordable Haute Couture.
She uses synthetic fabrics of highest quality carrying an Oeko-Tex certification, since natural fabrics are unable to withstand pleating and being an animal lover and a vegetarian since childhood, she has never used fur, leather or any other animal products in her collections.
She lives in Athens and Cape Sounion with her husband and their pets.
Daphne Valente's collection for Summer 2025, titled ‘Not the Gordian knot', pays tribute, in a cheeky way, to all the precious bonds in our lives. The bonds of love, family, friendship, and collaboration—bonds that we nurture at all costs and do not sever violently, as in the case of the Gordian knot.
It is well known that ancient Greek philosophers spoke of love as a force that transcends individual desires and connects people in meaningful ways, inspiring and elevating the human spirit.
The designer’s love for creation and her respect for Ancient Greek aesthetics have led her on a journey that, in 2025, will mark 40 years in the Greek fashion industry.
This love is expressed in the sculptural garments she creates, in her tender relationship with the fabrics, which she allows to express themselves freely, in the unique lightness with which her pleats embrace the body, and in the unbreakable ties with the past combined with her insightful gaze toward the future.
The bonds are expressed on her designs through knots in unexpected places, with draped fabrics loosely tied, with strap knots that adorn bare backs, all within a palette of earthy tones of ripe fruits and the colors of the Aegean Sea.
Campaign Credits
Art direction & Styling: Evgenios Anastasiadis
Photographer: Nikol Bartzoka by D tales creative agency
Model: Esther Mastroyianni by Agencia Models
Makeup: Sonia Simitzi by D tales creative agency
Hair: Konstantinos Sakkas by D tales creative agency
Styling assistant: Maria Karagouni
Photographer’s assistant: Dimitris Georgakis, Elpiniki Tsoulfa, Katerina Mitsou
Thank you Marilena Stathopoulou / Marketing & Sales.
