Marianna Pagoni, the “queen of the tie” as it has been established, she spoke to the Athenian – Macedonian News Agency about the “most important moments of her career” that took place in the last months of 2023 when King Charles III chose to wear a tie with the house’s Greek flag in key historical moments . As during the official visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to Buckingham in November and a few days later to the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28).

“This tie was purchased from our store by the owner of Zeus & Dione, Mimika Kolotura, some time ago to present to King Charles. It is a silk tie with Greek flags. It is my design which was created in the second half of 2003 on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Athens. Our house wanted to capture the most sacred symbol of our country in a tie. I had made two plans at the time,” says Ms. Pagoni and reveals that immediately after the incidents, a relative from the British royal family then came to Greece and bought other ties of the same type. “It’s very emotional,” he says.

“I want to thank King Charles for what he did for our Greece. For me it was a great honor that he wore it at this particular time.

He honored me by choosing my own design and raising it as a banner, at a time when the institution of our state had been insulted after the cancellation of the meeting of our prime minister with Mr. Sunak. On the occasion of the completion of 90 years of operation of Pagoni Maison Des Cravates I want to say a big thank you because with the latest events I felt that I received the greatest award. An award given to me by my work, of course, but at such an important moment for our country. One of mine, a tie designed with great respect, in such a historic moment”, she says deeply moved.

And he adds: “Of course, the clothes do the talking. After all, this is how we express ourselves. After what happened we have been inspired and are creating other designs in new collections, which will be ready in about two months. I’m not hiding from you that there is strong interest from the royal family.”

Mrs. Pagoni emphasized to APE-MPE that the same tie that was characterized abroad as the “tie of Greek pride” has been in the collection of the Greek Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis and the President of America Joe Biden since 2017. He had come to the country as the vice president of the USA invited by the then President of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos. I had received a phone call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the gifts they would offer him, among others was a tie. When it was given to him, he put it on and a reporter inside the Presidential Palace said, “Nice tie, Mr. Biden.”

“Yes it’s nice and it’s also a gift”, said the American politician. “But I don’t mind because I like the minister’s tie better,” pointing to then-Deputy Secretary of State Terence Quick who wore that tie. “Can we change her?” she asked him. And they immediately exchanged her. When Terence Quick asked him “why do you want it?”, he replied: “I want it because it’s a very nice tie. I have a lot of Greek friends that I love and I want to wear this tie whenever I see them.” “Just don’t forget to wear it,” Mr. Quick told him at last.

And in 2022, Joe Biden honoring Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis when he visited him at the White House he wore it again. The honor that two such great personalities of the planet have given me is shocking”, states Mrs. Pagoni with great emotion.

“This year we closed 90 years of operation and that means something. Our ties have been worn by royalty, famous people, heads of state and world leaders. In the guest book they are inexperienced. We are the world’s oldest tie house and now we are expanding into new areas such as women’s accessories” says the tie maker and emphasizes that the tie highlights the personality, mood, aesthetics and even the social status of the wearer.

“The Greeks love her. It is the accessory that a man should wear as well as the bow tie that came back into fashion. Depending on the circumstances, it reflects respect for the joy or sorrow of the one who calls us…”.

In closing, Mrs. Pagoni refers to her plans and talks about her great love for Greece.

“My goal is to be able to offer more because this is love in creation. As long as I can, I want to stand by my child, who continues to be unattached, with the aim of getting the house out of the borders of Greece. We rehearsed, became known worldwide, and now we intend to expand. However, this was the greatest moment of our lives,” he says.