As I sit waiting in a café a street over from Roy Christou’s Smith Street studio, ‘Gimme 5’ flashes on my phone – fashionably late of course. When he finally arrives he is looking cool; nonchalant, wearing his sunglasses – which he wears throughout our meeting – and orders himself an espresso.
Known for his ’90s street-wear label Roy, for the last two years Christou has been busily working on his latest project, fashion label Honor Among Thieves. Having opened his first store down Melbourne laneway and fashion hub Russell Place in 2011, the Greek Australian designer has recently completed his second instalment in the H.A.T. series, “I had the city store going and I knew I had to do another one,” he told Neos Kosmos.
Despite all the early success, Christou decided to walk away. He travelled and worked for Nobody denim as a consultant. Now Christou returns to his old stomping ground of South Yarra with a new venture, expanding Honor Among Thieves. Following the great success of opening night at his new store, in hindsight the designer is happy with his decision to close the chapter and to start something new.
One doesn’t have to be a fashion expert to know that fashion takes inspiration from past trends, meaning ideas are recycled or, as Christou sees it – thieved. With the label Honor Among Thieves, the designer is exposing this concept, going one step further with his logo: a chopped off hand. According to ancient Islamic laws, thieves would have their hands chopped off. How did this ingenious idea come to him?
“I was reading an Oscar Wilde biography, The Life and Times. When I read it, it just kind of jumped out. Never finished the book though.”
Even though Christou moved to Australia at a young age, an English twang remains present in his accent, to which he remarks, “probably from hanging out with my mum. She’s a little English lady; she’s like the Queen”. Growing up in Pascoe Vale in suburban Melbourne to a Cypriot father and English mother, the designer didn’t have a traditionally Greek upbringing – rather, he found himself exposed to bible study and the unconventional spiritual churches, clairvoyants and meditation – though he does recall the coffee cups coming out “when the Greeks would come over”. Despite the resistance to his Cypriot heritage while growing up, Christou says “you can’t help identifying with being Greek”.
Christou started out as a grooming consultant for UK company Aramis. Being at the time 1979, there were not many males doing that job anywhere, “no straight guys anyway,” he says. Christou felt a need to return to his birthplace.
“It was one of those things, I just packed a bag. I always had that calling to go back,” he tells Neos Kosmos. “I was 17. I remember growing a moustache to get into bars. Then it was moustaches, now it’s beards and tats,” he observes, at which point the waiter appears with a prominent moustache on his upper lip. “What do you think of moustaches?” he asks me.
Although I initially think Christou is fidgety, it becomes clear that I have misunderstood his observant nature; he is at times distracted by his surroundings as though gaining inspiration for his next collection. Despite the many years Christou has spent in the fashion industry, he remains down to earth and is chuffed with what he has achieved. “There’s so much paint in there from these hands,” he says, with great conviction, of his new store.
Christou started to make his own clothes at 26, recalling “at the time it was the ’80s; there were uniforms just as much as there are now. I was after something a bit more, so I just started making some bits and pieces”. His first job in the industry as a designer was working for Australian fashion giant Saba. “We used to do wide leg jeans, high waisted and tight – before stretch – you know, girls would be lying down trying to do the zip up,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
With his label Roy, Christou was categorised by denim, often being referred to as a ‘denim fiend’.
“Friends go ‘oh, what’s your second name? Jeans?’,” he says with a laugh. His passion for denim continues with his recent label, however the designer holds a special place for knitwear. When asked where he gets his inspiration from he responds, “I’m really kind of stuck on ’40s and ’50s collegian”.
As a designer Christou tries to steer clear of the obvious trends, staying true to himself and his customer following.
“It’s always like; this year the focus is the playsuit, and so everyone will do a playsuit… then you’re just competing aren’t you? I think I just like what I like.”
Christou has a strong and diverse following; in his store it’s not surprising to see a young 15-year-old fashion enthusiast perusing the racks alongside a fashion conscious mature age gentleman. This is precisely what sets Roy Christou apart from the rest; he has the maturity, experience and foresight to produce garments with wide ranging appeal and he agrees his pieces are about quality, saying “that’s the idea – that you’re going to wear it, let’s not say forever – but I like to make things with longevity”.
Having been in the industry for over three decades now, Christou over time has noticed a change in the industry and society at large. “I think people are just more educated with what goes on in the world,” he tells Neos Kosmos. With the popularity of online shopping, Christou has noticed significant changes, particularly in the fashion retail industry.
“People are willing to trawl all night, finding that perfect item of clothing. You can go online, find it, find it a bit cheaper even and have it in a couple of days,” he says. “It has broadened the market. I’ve dabbled in it, I just need to get my online presence more structured.”
Now that the Chapel Street project has been ticked off the agenda, as head designer Roy is shifting his focus back on the designing process. He is currently working on this year’s summer collection for label Honor Among Thieves, with a deadline of two months, after which he will commence Autumn/Winter ’14. Aside from this, Christou plans to restructure the business and in six month’s time hopes to have expanded his design team as he has realised the demands of being a business owner, saying “you have to be like three people in one”.
When asked where he envisages himself and his label down the track he responds: “Just bigger, better, in tune, finely tuned… to have the clear thought that this is what I do.”
Honor Among Thieves, 587 Chapel Street, South Yarra VIC, 3181. Phone: (03) 9827 6363.