9:03 a.m. First coffee, second email marked "urgent," and a video call that could have been a WhatsApp message. Glad IT’S A SHIRT has got me covered. In Athens, Christina Christodoulou transforms forgotten fabrics and family expertise into unisex shirts.
For the tireless curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, a life ceases to be interesting the moment it crystallizes. What he means is that his fascination lies with those who retain the grace to remain beginners.
In this lifelong quest to stay a neophyte, one must find a few allies. My IT'S A SHIRT, for instance, billows as I walk, creases at the elbow, and yields a button when the skin calls for air. No fixed shape. Tucked in, knotted, open, sleeves rolled up—it is ours to improvise. It archives everything: my perfume, Monday morning's coffee stain, the warmth of a Friday lover's kiss, the very traces of my existence. An absolute essential. All that remains is to find the one that feels like you.
Behind the scenes…
Christina Christodoulou had sworn she would never work in garment making. Raised in Piraeus, near Athens, amidst the sewing machines and fabrics of her family’s workshop, she knew the demands of the craft all too well. Yet, after studying textiles in Sweden and a stint at Our Legacy in Stockholm, she returned to Greece, determined to reinvent a wardrobe classic.
In 2017, she and her father began designing unisex shirts, crafted right in their family workshop. Taking a piece everyone knows to explore its endless possibilities. Loose or tailored cuts, Italian poplins, Greek linens, upholstery fabrics, and antique textiles unearthed in forgotten warehouses.
From her Athens boutique, Christina also collaborates with artists, occasionally turning hand-painted fabrics into limited editions.
