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‘Swinging Sixties’ label Ariella enters a golden age

Established in London’s fashion epicentre Carnaby Street, in its 1960s heyday, Ariella has passed the test of time and is now looking to the future with renewed vigour, under the direction of its enigmatic  co-founder, Achilleas Constantinou.

“It all started in 1966, the year England won the World Cup, when Carnaby Street was just beginning to take shape as the birthplace of revolutionary fashion,” Constantinou tells Drapers.

“I was still at school and my older brother, Aristos, was making eveningwear for the couturier Mattli, but it was all pretty fuddy-duddy stuff. My father was a master tailor and had a workshop at 45 Carnaby Street, which he let Aristos use.

I suggested he started making clothes for the kinds of girls I was hanging around with – all the long-haired hippy girls. At the time I had long curly hair like Mick Jagger, snakeskin heeled boots, snakeskin belt, tasselled shirts – the works.”

Achilleas – or “AC”, as he is known – and his friends helped paint 45 Carnaby Street in bright colours and Aristos, who was a graduate of London College of Fashion, started designing more contemporary dresses that…

Pure London Spring 14 Preview: Ariella Couture

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