You see her walk past you, holding her lacy white umbrella that casts shade on her face to avoid the hot rays of the sun. Her gait is silent, you only hear the light ripple that the heavy makes, embroidered, her pure white dress that carries all the shine of the beloved princess of Corfu, Sissy's, as they called her, popularly known as Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
This magical image that transports you to other times reminiscent of a fairy tale, discovers who visits the Achilleion palace in Corfu, one of the most architectural masterpieces of the island.
In this beautiful mansion bought and renovated by Princess Sissy, you see her apparition roaming the gardens, among the sculptures and statues of heroes of Greek mythology and Achilles' beloved.
He stands in front of the colossal statue of the demigod Achilles and smiles at all those who come to admire it, while stealing all the attention, she seduces them and they follow her to the statue of "Dying Achilles".
The melody played by the piano and violin faithfully follows her every step. When you get close to her you realize that this is a beautiful model who has all the grace of Princess Sissy and has immersed herself in her role so well that she feels like a princess herself.
“Wearing one of Princess Sissy's dresses, it makes me feel like a princess too. It's something unique. People feel as if they are seeing the princess herself walking through the gardens of Achilleus.. They smile at me and take pictures of me, because they want to keep her image alive", will tell APE-MPE, Georgia Miliou, from Kozani, student of the Department of Archives, of Librarianship and Museology of the Ionian University, who this summer decided not to return to her place of origin and her family, but to stay in Corfu and experience this unique opportunity to play Princess Sissy.
"Overseas this is very common and the tourists understand it and are in perfect harmony with the climate" will say the young student wearing one of the princess's much-loved gowns, the "white dress".
There are already two faithful replicas of Empress Sissy's original toilets in Achilleo, creations of the internationally renowned fashion designer Monika Czedly.
These are the replicas of the "blue toilet" and the "white toilet", who was also the princess's favorite.
The original "blue toilet" was auctioned on 2012 in Vienna. The toilet dates from 1890 and was part of the Empress's wardrobe for Corfu.
“We know this from the label on the back of the neck of the dress, with the signature embroidery crowned with a dolphin crown, which appears in all the dresses of the special wardrobe for Corfu worn by the princess" the director of the Achilleus Museum will tell APE-MBE, Anastasios Diavatis.
The replicas of Princess Sissy's costumes she presented, early summer, in the gardens of Achilles, Fashion Designer Monika Czedly herself, which is currently presenting 28 Sissy's dresses at Halbturn Palace, Austria, while in August, the princess's pink gown is also expected to arrive at Achillio.
Princess Sissy's original "pink gown"., dated according to the Austrian museum, from 1880. This is a particularly pioneering dress. At that time the women's movement was very popular with the exception of a short period from the 1878 until the 1882, when the women's movement briefly disappeared due to backlash against very early attempts at women's emancipation, whenever black dresses became a fashion trend. It is likely that someone made some alterations to this dress so that the empress could wear it in all seasons.
All dresses, faithful replicas of the original original princess dresses, are expected to be exposed, as said by Mr. Passer, in the halls of Achilles, with Princess Sissy taking on "flesh and bones" in her much-loved mansion where she lived at least six months of the year.
As for designer Mónika Czédly, who brought Princess Sissy to life, the 1989 founded the company D'Elia Salon. A Hungarian family business that designs and creates unique toilets in the world. Monika Czedly is known for creating authentic replicas of the clothes of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Queen Elizabeth was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world and was noted for her style and her opinion on fashion which was highly unconventional.
The styling and curation of the presentation of the models in the gardens of Achilleus was handled by the well-known Corfu designer Dora Desyllas, while the violin and piano in the peristyle of the palace, they are performed by students of the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University, which maintains a close collaboration with the Achilleus Museum.