Traditional women’s underwear from Paros
Following its initial presentation at the Paros Municipality Arts Centre in August 2025, the PORTELATA AND MISSOPHORIA exhibition was held at the end of February in the prestigious setting of the “Melina” Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Athens. A large audience flocked to admire this journey through time, a source of inspiration and memories, as described by Anna Kagani, Deputy Mayor for Culture in Paros. Through paintings, sculptures, photographs, embroideries, and weavings selected by the eminent art historian Iris Kritikou, the exhibition highlighted the contribution, memory, and materials of traditional women’s costumes of the period, as well as their influence on contemporary designers.
The Municipality of Paros organised the event in its entirety, with the support of the Parian Association of Ekatontapyliani, while our association, the Friends of Paros and Antiparos, contributed to the publication of the exhibition catalogue, faithful to its objectives which include participating in and supporting innovative cultural actions highlighting and documenting the customs and traditions, history and heritage, as well as the contemporary cultural character of our beloved island.
The Association of Friends of Paros and Antiparos was delighted to support the exhibition, ‘Portelata and Misoforia: Unveiling the Women’s Undergarments of the Traditional Paros Costume‘. More specifically, the Association sponsored the accompanying publication to mark its launch in Athens at the ‘Melina’ Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Athens.
Since its inception, the Association of Friends of Paros and Antiparos has been involved in innovative cultural initiatives designed to preserve and promote the local cultural heritage of Paros. These initiatives highlight and document the region’s customs, traditions, history, heritage, contemporary cultural character, and public-interest activities.
The diversity of the undergarments of the traditional women’s costume of Paros, as well as the memory of the hands that created them and their multifaceted folkloric and symbolic dimensions, constitute a valuable source of information about traditional daily life in Paros.
The exhibition is a valuable legacy for the contemporary artistic landscape of Paros, providing a forum for dialogue between leading contemporary Greek and international artists. Our contribution is in line with our vision.
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