Greece may be about to add itself to the long monstrous regiment of socialist basket-case nations, but at least their art scene appears to be thriving in the chaos. The latest interesting item is the exhibition ARRRGH!: Monsters in Fashion, at Athens (until 31st July 2011)…

“the first exhibition about monstrous character design in fashion, curated by Vassilis Zidianakis. International artists create playful dresses, avant-garde costumes and hairstyles, re-inventing the human body and sending their monstrous, enigmatic, radical and grotesque new Characters onto the catwalk and beyond. They redefine the relation between body and costume by mixing visual communication codes and questioning the established aesthetic norms. The exhibition ARRRGH! Monsters in Fashion is realised with the contribution of the following institutions, fashion designers and artists: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Netherlands, Maison Martin Margiela, Walter Van Beirendonck, LucyandBart, Jean-Charles De Castelbajac, Mareunrol’s, Bas Kosters, Issey Miyake, Henrik Vibskov, Charlie Le Mindu, Boris Hoppek, Craig Green, Bernhard Willhelm, Cassette Playa, Andrea Ayala Closa, George Tourlas, Piers Atkinson and Pyuupiru amongst others.”

They had an “Atopic Bodies” Monster’s Ball event two days ago to launch the show, and hopefully Flickr photos will be surfacing soon. There is a website for the exhibition, but it seems it hasn’t been published in time for the exhibition launch.