Page 186 - ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL 2022

M Y K ONO S

PL AYBACK
Among the Stars

From low-key Aegean gem to glittering star-studded escapism, in the 1970s and 1980s Mykonos came into its
mecca, Mykonos is famed for its A-lister legacy, iconic own as a global mecca of uninhibited celebration and
lifestyle and legendary nightlife. indulgence. Icons such as Liz Taylor and Joan Collins,
Very few places in the world can claim status and renown Yul Brynner and Paul Newman, Audrey Hepburn and
similar to that of Mykonos, and fewer still have undergone Nureyev, Gianfranco Ferré and Jean Paul Gaultier soaked
as immense a transformation and come out preserving up the sun by day and revelled in the legendary party
so much of their authenticity and unique local flair. scene by night. This was the era of Remezzo and Caprice,
No wonder that this jewel in the heart of the Aegean jet-set hangouts famed for their cocktails, music and
has established itself as one of the world’s most coveted magnificent parties, and of the world-famous Pierro’s,
island destinations – one that seems to have danced its the tiny bar that put Mykonos on the map as a top gay
way from traditional insular community to unrestrained destination. With its “everyone’s welcome” attitude and
cosmopolitan hub. stellar repertoire of drag shows, DJs, and larger-than-
When modern tourism arrived on Mykonos in the 1920s life parties that defined the island’s nightlife, Pierro’s
and 1930s, it was sparked by interest in nearby Delos, a became a Mykonos landmark, with a clientele comprising
sacred island and major centre of worship in antiquity, the who’s who of A-listers, from socialites and shipping
with artists, intellectuals, aesthetes, and other elite society magnates to film stars and fashion icons from Greece
globetrotters keen to experience the allure and mystique and around the world.
of the ancient world and the quaint Cycladic way of life. Today, Mykonos is renowned as a summer playground for
The appeal of Mykonos was instant. The beauty of its the super-rich and fabulous. An exclusive cosmopolitan
landscape breathtaking. The ease and conviviality of destination that revels in hedonism and celebrates desire,
its lifestyle disarming. And so the legend of Mykonos imbued with the free-spiritedness and refinement of
was born. generations of artists, literati and jet setters that have
In the 1950s and 1960s, Mykonos became an earthly shaped it. A gem that reflects the changing times but
paradise for bohemians and celebrities, hippies and shines in its own legendary light – unapologetically
wanderers, and royalty and tycoons, whose ideas, habits authentic, fabulous and free.•
and practices found their place alongside the age-
old customs and traditions of the locals, in a liminal
celebration of freedom and escape from the ordinary
that would forever shape the island’s character. From
Brigitte Bardot and Marlon Brando to Grace Kelly and
Jackie O, the famous and wealthy were drawn here, and
Mykonos’s international fame continued to grow. By
1971, the once quiet Aegean home of fishermen, weavers PHOTOS: PERSONAL ARCHIVE OF DIMITRIS KOUTSOUKOS
and subsistence farmers, an island that recently as the The legendary nightlife of the 70s and 80s lives on in
mid-1950s had no running water or motor vehicles and today’s fabulous parties and extravagant Mykonos lifestyle,
little electricity, was a star-studded destination with a with celebrities including Bella Hadid, Usain Bolt, Nicole
brand new airport, glamorous villas, and luxury yachts Scherzinger, and Leonardo DiCaprio upholding the
moored off its coasts. star-studded legacy of icons such as heartthrob Thomas
Fritsch (opposite page on the top) and designers Billy Bo
With its signature air of freedom, open-mindedness and (opposite page in the center) and Valentino.

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