World of Kióhne: The Beginning
Lydia and Amelia first met while working at Zeus+Dione, Lydia as Head of Design and Amelia as Marketing Director, where they instantly connected. After two years, their paths diverged; Lydia continued at Zeus+Dione, while Amelia focused on building a start-up jewelry brand.
When the timing felt right on a summer day, they reunited to create something new, something unique and instantly recognizable in the market.
Their shared love for Greek craftsmanship and the country’s natural beauty inspired them to create this resortwear brand. All Kióhne products are manufactured in Greece using high-quality materials. Lydia and Amelia are dedicated to preserving local craftsmanship, ensuring that every piece maintains the highest standards, allowing anyone to enjoy a piece of the Greek summer for years to come.
“Greek summer is about feeling relaxed, and the notion of less is more,” say co-founders Lydia and Amelia. This is the feeling they seek to evoke by creating a flexible wardrobe of lightweight, wearable products derived from concept-based collections.
Thus, KIOHNE was created in collaboration with Dimitris Papazoglou of DPS Athens, resulting in a strong brand identity that stands confidently on its own. With a snowflake as the brand mark, the name Kiohne comes from the Greek word χιόνι meaning ‘snow’. "It is an impactful oxymoron, a thoughtful irony for designs signalling summer."
With exceptional attention to detail, every element of the branding from custom trims to packaging and visual merchandise was designed and crafted to immerse the customer in an experience of modern luxury.
Just a few months after the launch of Kiohne in 2022, one of the brand’s first swimsuits was worn by Gwyneth Paltrow for a shoot in Financial Times’ How To Spend It.
Shortly after, its first major collaboration followed: Vogue Greece partnered with Kiohne to create the VOGUExKIOHNE sustainable bag, gifted to all attendees of the Vogue Change Makers event.
A few months after that, the brand started being featured in a variety of national and international publications, including The Guardian, Vogue Greece, Marie Claire, and Madame Figaro, among others. Kiohne reached a large press audience, and the brand is now loved and worn by celebrities such as Gabrielle Union, as well as several influencers across Europe, the US, and Asia. Most recently, the brand was also featured in the film Bugonia, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.
After a few years, Kiohne grew to become one of the most recognizable brands in Greece.
The brand’s diversity is endless and continues to amaze, as it collaborates each season with major retail stores,hotels,artists and other brands to create custom-made pieces that align with their values and ethos.
“We continue this journey with the same enthusiasm with which we began, as there is still so much more to explore and create, always guided by our most important value: high quality,” say co-founders Lydia and Amelia.
