Loves of My Life: Alexia Karides
The best interviews are often the most personal. In Loves of My Life, we get to know the person behind their craft, asking them the important questions we're desperate to know—the restaurants and date-night spots, what's in their Saved folder on Instagram, the piece of jewellery they're most attached to and what's lurking at the bottom of their handbag. In short, these are the true loves of their life. Next up is jewellery designer and founder of YSSO, Alexia Karides.
What's your #1 restaurant to visit in the world, and what do you order?
It's hard to choose, but the first place that came to mind is Cantina in Sifnos. This tiny restaurant at the bottom of the old town is what dreams are made from—the food is exquisite, both modern and traditional, and the wine is incredible. It’s all about the experience of being secluded and yet still in the middle of a buzzing modern restaurant in front of the Aegean.
Is there anything in your wardrobe that you're particularly sentimental about?
Any clothing that I have from my mother! From jumpers to jeans, I love wearing my mother’s vintage clothes, both because they belonged to her, but also because the quality is simply amazing and goes to show that good design and quality never goes out of fashion.
What would we always find lurking in the bottom of your handbag?
Photography was always my passion and that’s why I set out to do all our YSSO campaigns myself. So, I always carry with me my Leica D-Lux 8—it’s a portable camera that is perfect for travel and it’s not as chunky as the professional cameras I use for our campaigns. The beauty of it is that you get high-quality photography out of a small-sized camera.
The Cycladic Island of Sifnos, Greece.
What's your signature scent?
I love changing perfume with either the season or life periods, for example, I have a perfume that reminds me of when I used to live in Brussels in such a strong and vivid manner that it transports me to that time. My current perfume though (that I’m obsessed with because it’s both complex and strong) is the Lys 41 by Le Labo.
If you could only holiday in one place for the rest of your life, where would it be?
With the fear of being a cliché, I have to say Greece. You can experience everything all at once, from skiing in the mountains to incredible summer holidays in such a variety of landscapes and social scenes that it’s a never-ending quest of mine to find my favourite place in Greece. Every time you visit somewhere new, there is always somewhere else yet to discover; that's what I find the most fascinating about my country, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel differently however many years I keep exploring.
