Alice Dikaiou – The golden lady of fashion

Elegance is the result of a combination, it’s all about the attitude. And that is what Alice Dikaiou is all about. She is beautiful, energetic and carries with her an aura of elegance, which soon becomes obvious that it is a state that comes from within. She has worked as a model for Loukia and Billy Bo, Lanvin, Balenciaga and Nina Ricci, and has experienced the golden age of fashion in Greece and Paris. She is the daughter of the Greek world-renowned violinist Nikos Dikaios. Her mother hailed from the city Grasse in Southern France, and Alice grew up in an environment that favored music and education. Enamored with Greece, Alice left France in order to move to her favorite country. In the 80’s and 90’s she had a successful career in Greek fashion. She is married to the businessman Panagiotis Vrakas and together they have three daughters. Her company, Alice PR Events, organizes the most popular charity events in Athens and abroad, presenting fashion items she tends to and presents herself.

I know you have been in love with Greece ever since the day you were born. Please tell me what it is you love most and perhaps what you hate most and what you would change if it was up to you.
First of all, I love Greece because I am half Greek. I was born and raised in Paris and grew up there until I was 20 years old. During summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Greece with my parents, to enjoy the Athens Festival taking place at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. These occasions became vivid memories which made me fall in love with Greece. My father, an official guest of the Athens Festival as a solist violinist of the French National Orchestra, directed by the French Maestro Jean Martinon, considered it highly beneficial for a child to experience the magic of music in its entirety. I remember myself as a little child, attending rehearsals with my brother Alexandre, both of us standing in awe. These concerts at the Herodion made me promise myself that I would move to Greece once I had finished my baccalaureate in France. I love Greeks, and in doing so I often overlook their shortcomings. No matter their faults, they carry with them something that cannot be translated in any other language. The “filotimo”.

Your father Nikos Dikaios was one of the greatest violinists of his time. Please tell me how he influenced you.
My father, Nikos Dikaios, was a man with a passion for life and expression. He was emotional and his sensitivity was expressed through music. Undeniably, his presence played an important part in shaping my personality. I love people, music, arts and elegance. I feel that these components often show up in all aspects of our life and turn us into unique entities. Our life in Paris was steeped in music, concerts and art. Our father always kept us by his side, no matter how young we were, me and my younger brother would always participate. We would experience the whole process of the preparation for a concert whether it was taking place in the Theâtre des Champs Elysees, the Salle Gaveau or in the Salle Pleyel. Walking home towards the Μaison de la Radio, our father would stand in the middle of the bridge of Pont Mirabeau, looking at the river boats crossing the Seine, and tell us stories. These images are still vivid in my mind’s eye. One of the stories that had impressed me was that of my father’s performance at one of Khachaturian’s pieces at the Moscow Bolshoi. Khachaturian himself expressed his admiration, along with 10.000 audience that applauded and asked for a repetition of the performance. Being the daughter of Nikos Dikaios, I see life as a concert. The orchestra members represent our fellow people. The solist, represents our respective self. The audience, represents society and the maestro the driving force. My father taught me to experience situations as if they were music. Whenever I am the art director of an event, I chose the music depending on how I perceive the tone of what is being presented, the audience, the season, the location etc. I could not have asked for a better influence than that of my father, and I am thankful for that.

Since the Greek Revolution of 1821, France has supported Greece immensely, showing their Philellenism through their actions. How did you experience this as half-Greek in Paris?
As a child in Paris, I used to enjoy watching in my father’s conversations. I remember him spending all Thursdays with the Greek Ambassador in France, Dimitris Athanasopoulos, who happened to be one of his biggest admirers. During those evenings, Greeks living in Paris used to come. One of the visitors was Maria Kallas, who had graduated from the same music school as my father, and another was the great painter Fassianos. They would talk about music, art and Greek people. It was during one of those conversations, that I first found out that our family’s last name “Dikaios” hails from one of the heroes of the Greek Revolution, Grigorios-Dikaios Papaflessas. The visits to the Ambassador’s house and my presence in such conversations from the age of 8, are what shaped me into who I am. Even when I was in school, especially high school, I used to detect admiration in my teachers’ regard when I used to say that my father was Greek.

Loukia, Billy Bo, Polatof, Philemon. tell me about this era of Greek fashion designers. How have things changed, nowadays?
My collaboration with the Greek designers has always been based on mutual love, friendship, trust and respect. We used to have such a nice time! I remember travelling with Loukia in Jerusalem, London and Harrods, with Billy Bo in Egypt, with Polatof in Paris and with Filemon we used to arrange shows all over Greece. I also had the chance to present as model the collection of Jean Louis De Balenciaga and Nina Ricci in Paris. I could have moved back to my native country France, but each time I was in Paris, the only thing I was thinking of was come back to Greece. Greek designers nowadays are very talented and professional. Greek minds are very creative and full of imagination. Two things that have changed are the times and the standards. There is an abundance of information and an increasing number of young people are attracted to fashion and fashion design. This bloom was brought about in part by the social media, where information is passed around quickly and to a large amount of people.

You have a happy family and you have been a grandmother 2 years ago. How do you feel?
Something happened in my life that was brighter than all the fashion shows in Tokio, New York, Paris, London, and more important than fame and applause. This blessed gift is called family, the one me and my husband Panayotis created together. I met him when I was 28. Our first daughter, Effie Karin, is an international surfer. She is married and has gifted us with my granddaughter, now expecting her second child. Our second daughter, Chirstina-Estel, is 25 years old and recently graduated from the technical university as a chemical engineer, while our youngest daughter, Alexia, is only 16 years old, and is currently a student at high school and a professional swimmer at Nautical Club of Vouliagmeni.

Professionally, you are a very successful woman and very vivid in the market of fashion events. What is the secret of your success?
The word family comes at odds with the word career. Having my family as a priority, I never neglected my professional career. Once I was done with modelling, having everything I needed in the field of fashion shows, I opened up a company that undertakes art directing most events and important charity events. However, I never stopped combining both, and that is the secret of my success. Everything in my life is conducted by one thing: inspiration.