Personal stylist and owner of Mosh Kifissia

I wake up early but it’s always late. I have a good breakfast and take my time doing so. I usually listen to music–there’s plenty of time later to catch up on the news–and I like to have this time to organize my thoughts. I prepare for the day ahead by picking out what I’m going to wear. How I dress is important. I listen to music everywhere–different styles, according to my mood.
After that, each day is never the same. Work sets the tone. Work is Mosh , a boutique I own and run in Kifissia, a northern suburb of Athens. It’s named after my hometown in Tanzania. Mosh is Moshi and Moshi is home. I also like the sound of its name. It suits me and it’s mine.
At work there’s a lot of everything. Telephone calls, payments, display arrangements, and generally organizing the staff according to what needs to be done each day. I only have time for a short lunch break–and I manage a few quick snacks during the day. I also try to fit in an exercise break. There’s never enough time and I usually don’t get home until late at night.
Whenever I can, I try to indulge. My favorite foods are sushi and seafood–which go perfectly with my favorite drink, good white wine consumed in the company of good friends. Often, after work, I’ll meet some friends for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Matsuhisha and Square Sushi.
I studied film directing and photography but it didn’t take long to realize that I wasn’t going to make a living doing either in Greece. Today I only shoot pictures for pleasure. Before Mosh, I worked for a Greek-Arab company in the field of bunker fuel for several years. This, of course, had its benefits–a good income, interesting contacts, and the experience of handling millions of tons of fuel oil and dollars.
Fashion always attracted me as an art form. I’m also attracted to anything that isn’t routine, anything that is out of the ordinary because it forces my shy self out of its shell. It also motivates my lazy self to always be in action. Fashion pleases my eye and satisfies my constant need to have beauty around me. I have a passion for beauty. And I always feel the need to get involved in it in any way I can.
Fashion is not static. It’s motion. You can never settle into it and think you know everything. Fashion’s fast pace makes it exceptionally difficult for anyone to be bored. It’s this aspect of my work that I find so fascinating but which also takes up so much time.
A good part of each day is spent poring over trade magazines and on a constant safari, in books, online, in blogs. I also travel quite a lot visiting showrooms around Europe. I use all this information to choose my collections. I do this based on personal inspiration, instinct, and a constant urge to get better and better. I hope this will never stop being fun.
Mosh Kifissia’s concept is linked to beauty, style, and glamour–all as art forms. Through my choice of identity brands I create statement collections that help my clients accentuate their identity or find forms to indicate their identity. This is what I call ‘styling’.
Right now we have clothes by fashion houses like Save the Queen, whose designs are very feminine; their designs have lots of applications and decorative elements and combine influences from folklore and art. I also like Claire Campbell’s collection h-i-gh label with its “everyday” elegance and identity pieces that will become tomorrow’s classics. I think she’s a leading creative talent in contemporary design. I’m also fond of Vivienne Westwood, of course, with her vast collection of unique clothes, shoes, handbags that make an impact in originality and beauty. I can’t omit Steve Alan in Bray collection, who has been successfully experimenting with design and created a real alternative denim attitude. Like most people, I like jeans. No two people wear jeans the same way, jeans are like a canvas on which everyone draws their fashion personality.