"I cried - it's the first time I've had that reaction in the 10 years I've been working in the fashion industry." How designer Mary Katrantzou managed to secure the site for the forbidden Temple of Poseidon in Athens, which dates back to 444 BC. This is the backdrop for her epic spring/Summer 2020 fashion show.

Athens-born London-based designer Mary Katrantzou will present her Spring/Summer 2020 collection, Templeof Poseidon, on October 3 in a place never seen before.

The Temple of Poseidon is a sacred symbol of the Golden Age of Athens and is widely considered the cradle of Western civilization.

In fact, this is the first time the Temple of Poseidon has been used for a private event.

Katrantzou, whose designs have been embraced by celebrities such as LupitaNyong'o, Michelle Obama and Beyonce, describes the event as a homecoming.

"I've wanted to do something in Greece for a long time, and after last year's 10th anniversary, it seemed like the right time."

She's not the only one to reach this important milestone, though. Philanthropist Maria Maria Dinoyannis founded the Associationof Friends of Children with cancer (ELPIDA) in 1990, She established the BoneMarrow Transplant Unit, Greece's first bone marrow transplant unit, and the OncologyChildren's Hospital before founding the society, and is looking forward to celebrating the organization's 30th anniversary, So he teamed up with designer Katrantzou.

"I think Marianna probably thought I wanted to do a very straightforward fashion show, and when I told her and the committee that I wanted to do something in honour of Greece and that my dream location was the Temple of Poseidon, there was a sudden silence."

Katrantzou laughs. Their silence is justified: Greece's Central ArchaeologicalCouncil (KAS) - an advisory board for the protection of monuments and archaeological sites, whose rules are so strict that they refused Gucci's 2017 fashion show in the Acropolis in Athens.

"It was very difficult because we needed approval from both the Ministry ofCulture and the Central Archaeological Commission KAS, and the whole process took more than six months."

Katrantzou continued: "We finally got the green light this July. I thought, at this point, it would be impossible to get approved. I cried because the news was so unexpected, it was the first time I've had that reaction in my 10 years in the fashion industry."

So what makes the case of Katrantzou and Vardinoyannis so fascinating? "It was a combination of factors," Katrantzou explains. "We came together to raise money for a noble cause (by donating to ELPIDA, a percentage of the seats at the fashion show will be available to donors); Each shape in the series uses a different production technique, inspired by the philosophy of art, literature and science of the temple's founding period."

It is safe to say that Vardinoyannis' knowledge of World heritage as UNESCOGoodwill Ambassador is undoubtedly an additional guarantee.

Oscar-winning composer VangelisPapathanasiou, in collaboration with Katrantzou, will create The soundtrack for RussellMaliphant's modern dance "The Thread," while EtienneRusso, founder of the Villa Ergeni hotel in Paris, France, Is responsible for the production of this project.

In 444 BC (the same year as Parthenon), the Templeof Hephaistos in the ancient market of Athens was designed by the architect Iktinos, who is believed to have built the temple of Templeof Poseidon, And there was good reason to name the temple after the god of the sea.

Located 70 kilometers south of Athens, the site sits on top of a rocky cliff that drops 65 meters into the Aegean Sea.

According to Greek mythology, it was here that Aegeus, the king of Athens, mistakenly believed that his son Theseus had been killed by Minotaur, and was so distractedthat he jumped into the water to end his life that the sea was named after him.

"The first time I went there, I was about 10 years old," Katrantzou recalls.

"There was a sense of total isolation, a place where, as a teenager, I would go to gather my thoughts. Even now the place is flooded with tourists, you can still feel connected to the elements when you are in it. "of all the monuments I have visited, there is no other place that combines sky, sea and earth like the Temple of Poseidon."