Conquistador’s menswear collection for Autumn/Winter 2011, entitled ‘Supernature’, is inspired by urban heroes, monks and surfers, and is undeniably aimed at a man that thrives in exploring images of rebelliousness. The main themes of the collection are based on the process of deconstructing garments and what they stand for, such as the classic cotton college hoodie, which is reworked in new proportions. In addition, sharp tailoring clashes with contemporary details of clothes held together by pins and zippers, and made of denim and leather
Conquistador is the brainchild of Tassos Sofroniou and the result of his diverse career in many areas of fashion. Born in Germany and based in Athens, Sofroniou has been stylist, photographer, creative director and part time creative consultant. He describes his career as having started at the age of 14, with his academic studies in photography, history of fashion and graphic design. After a stint as fashion stylist in Greece, Sofroniou moved to London in 1995, where he got to work for three years as a personal assistant to British stylist Isabella Blow. After a decade formative collaborations with photographers such as Richard Avedon and David La Chapelle, and magazines such as The Face, Surface, Interview, British GQ, and Sunday Times Style, he returned to Greece to continue his styling career with added dimensions of fashion photography and creative direction. In February 2010 the first ideas and sketches for Conquistador were drawn and the label was officially launched in Athens in September 2010 during Vogue’s Fashion Night Out.
Since then, Conquistador has been balancing style and originality in equal measures. The clothes are mostly handmade and contain hints of luxury in their materials and designs, although they playfully reinterpret punk, urban, and even preppy sartorial traditions. The predominant material is fine cotton cut and treated like fine thick silk. Natural leather and cotton poplin complete the details of each garment and the predominant colour is black. Natural leather bags and accessories with handmade details along with trousers and short pants complete the Conquistador look.
In its short history, Conquistador has featured in important publications in Greece, such as Vogue and Esquire, and Sofroniou has caught the eyes of a few editors who have featured his designs or interviewed him for print and online publications. Conquistador can be found in stores in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, and Ksanthi) and Cyprus (Limassol).
