Maria Koutsoukos: Threading the past onto the present

Maria Koutsoukos’s Sto Spiti collection is a deeply personal homage to her Greek heritage by blending traditional cultural elements with contemporary design, inspired by her grandparents’ sacrifices and her grandmother’s guidance. Through reimagining household items found in Greek-Australian homes, Maria creates a visual narrative of cultural resilience that bridges past and present.

Maria Koutsoukos, a third-generation Greek Australian, has long felt a deep connection to her roots but struggled to preserve her heritage in a way that felt authentic to her.

During her honors project in university, Maria developed Sto Spiti, a collection that helped her reconnect with her culture and the family traditions she felt were slipping away. “I saw myself kind of forgetting…my accent was fading away,” she recalls. “So I was panicking and just trying to find a way to connect my fashion to my culture.”

Credit: Jorja Kavellaris

Through her project, Maria began spending more time with her grandparents, finding inspiration in simple, everyday moments. “I started spending heaps more time with my grandparents. I’d go out for coffee with them, hanging out for lunch, just chatting with them about everyday things, I do gardening with my pappou sometimes. He teaches me how to like plant tomatoes”, she says, describing these experiences as a vital part of rediscovering her roots.

With woven mats and lace tablecloths threaded into her designs, Maria’s collection tells a visual story of her heritage and her connection to her grandparents’ world. “These elements reminded me so much of growing up at my grandma’s house,” she shares. “I wanted to make these things into fashion because I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Credit: Harrison Moss

Guided and supported by her grandmother Katerina, Maria reimagines and repurposes familiar items from Greek-Australian homes. The collection, she says, became “a way to connect back to them a bit more,” preserving her heritage while exploring her own evolving identity.

Maria is also a contributor for

Proika project

, a

Yitonia

, blending fashion, photography, and conversation. Featuring the creative talents of Demi Kromidellis, Maria Koutsoukos, and Marianna Alepidis, Proika invites viewers to explore the heirlooms—both physical and metaphorical—passed down through generations, while raising questions about how we interpret and honor our heritage in a modern context. The event will take place on the 20th of November.