Behind the Label | Wanderlista
Andria Mitsakos is a publicist, designer, style curator, and founder of the Wanderlista Concept store. This stylish Greek-American travels the globe collecting inspiration and products to fill her chic boutiques and Shop Latitude online store. Read more about the lifestyle of this Wanderlista and shop exotic wares from Andria?s travels.
Andria Mitsakos is a publicist, designer, style curator, and founder of the Wanderlista Concept store. This stylish Greek-American travels the globe collecting inspiration and products to fill her chic boutiques and Shop Latitude online store. Read more about the lifestyle of this Wanderlista and shop exotic wares from Andria?s travels.
How does travel inspire your collection?
In the past month, I?ve visited five countries on three continents, and that is pretty normal for me! It?s inevitable that different cultures, people, and places inspire my work. Travel is just part of me. I?d be lost without it. Sometimes it?s the way I see fish swim in the Pacific, or mosaic icons in a church on a tiny Greek island. One time, this antique bronze elephant I bought in Cambodia had me on a green spree for a while; I used this color everywhere! It can also be as easy as a 5? top I pick up in a vintage store in Athens. Whatever the case may be, travel has always been the common denominator in my accessories line, Dea Rosa.
Describe the Wanderlista brand in 3 words.
Spontaneous. Cultured. Confident.
I love the saying ?travel by opportunity? -- spontaneity is very important to me. I?ve traveled for up to three months at a time when I was only planning to be away for a week. As a Wanderlista, you need to be nimble, and stylish, so having control of your travel wardrobe ? regardless of destination ? is imperative. Pack less and be creative is my motto.
Cultured is one of the most important things an individual can be, and this helps you be tolerant of other religions, politics, and traditions. Traveling affords us this.
Confidence will open doors for you in life before anything else will, and women need to remind themselves of this. It?s the one thing that you should always pack with you!
Your collection of products keeps growing. What creative endeavors are on the horizon?
After the initial launch on Shop Latitude, I?ll be adding new, limited edition Dea Rosa bags every month. The line is always evolving and I?m experimenting more with other exotic skins, leathers, and textiles while maintaining my classic shapes and design aesthetics. Simultaneously, I?m opening the Caribbean?s flagship Wanderlista Concept Store located at Ocean Point (www.oceanpoint.com), a new resort that will open in St. Maarten in October, so I?ll spend a good deal of my autumn there! The Caribbean was one of my first homes in my professional life (and I?ve been traveling there since the age of six months), so it?s very special to me. In the winter, I?ll open a Wanderlista pop-up in Punta Mita, Mexico (www.livepuntamita.com), and I?m also working on a new project in Fiji at Vomo Island Resort (www.vomofiji.com) where I?m helping to curate their darling boutique.
Who is your muse? Describe the woman who wears Wanderlista.
Since Wanderlista is a collaboration of designers, it?s all about women who embrace the art of travel through culture in style. It?s for the kind of woman who loves discovery, the woman who lives in the present but inherently knows that her life is going to be enhanced by the opportunity that lies ahead.
Tell us about your favorite piece (or one of them) and where you were inspired to create it.
From my own line, Dea Rosa, I?m in love with The Stella. I was with my best friend and photographer Peter Wesley Brown in Malaysia, and I was working on new shapes, so we took the best selling evening bag (the Zefyros) and gave it a more modern aesthetic: a back-to-back mini bag with two of my signature invisible handles. What?s great is that it holds all of your essentials safely and effortlessly, since it has three separate compartments.
Also, as a Wanderlista, I?ve created a namesake collection along the way inspired by my travels. The Greek Market Jennet Pendant is inspired by headpieces worn by donkeys in the Greek countryside. The Mykonos Map bracelet not only serves as a reminder of the first pop-up Wanderlista boutique I ever created but also a reminder to keep on traveling.
What do you love most about the city you live in?
Well, although airports do seem like home to me, this summer, I?m based in Athens and this city continues to surprise me every day. I think that, given the crisis in Greece, Athens is learning how to rediscover herself. There are new things opening every day. Restaurants, bars, bookstores, vintage shops, the energy here among entrepreneurs is infectious. Crisis breeds creativity and it?s evident in the constant evolution of new neighborhoods and the challenge of wanting to do something now, to make a difference in our beloved city.
