nonna lietta
The Thread of Memory
Behind every stitch of nonna lietta lies a legacy of an Italian grandmother whose hands were constantly creating. Between Athens and Crete, founder Lietta Kasimati composes a fashion that is both intimate and honest, where knitwear becomes a vessel for memories. In this interview, she shares her vision of slow fashion, anchored in the preservation of Mediterranean traditions and a deep respect for raw materials. Discover the path of a designer who uses wool and cotton to clothe the soul with a timeless truth.
“If a garment feels honest and human, it will always feel current.”
Lietta Kasimati
Hello Lietta, how are you? Can you tell us a bit about yourself, who you are, where you’re based, and what you do?
I’m well, thank you — grounded, a little tired in the good way, dreaming of future creations while always thinking with my hands. I am Lietta, the founder and creative director of nonna lietta. I’m based in Athens, Greece, grew up in Crete, places that feel both familiar and endlessly inspiring to me. What I do sits somewhere between design, preservation, and care. I create knitwear but more than that, I try to protect my memories, traditional knitwear techniques, and human relationships through clothing. nonna lietta is my way of slowing fashion down and bringing it back to something intimate, tactile, and honest.
The name ‘nonna lietta’ and your collections suggest a very personal story. Could you share a specific memory or tradition from your Italian grandmother that first sparked the idea for the brand, and how she influenced your design philosophy?
This is indeed a very personal and special story ignited me to start nonna lietta. My Italian grandmother and namesake, an overly creative person and fine arts alumni herself, spend most of her time knitting, mending, cooking, touching in all ways. Our time together in this world and her creative personality birthed the creative spark in me and set the grounds as I was growing older for nonna lietta to become true. She taught me, without words, that making something well and creating with one’s own hands is an act of love. That philosophy lives in nonna lietta. Every piece is designed to feel like it has already lived a life with you — as if it carries a memory from the moment you put it on. nonna lietta will be forever dedicated to her. She’ll always be my biggest source of inspiration — hope she watches over me from afar.
Your pieces beautifully blend Mediterranean tradition with a modern aesthetic. What is your process for balancing that timeless authenticity with the need to stay relevant and fresh in contemporary knitwear design?
I don’t think of relevance as novelty. I think of it as truthfulness to the present moment. Starting from tradition — yarns, stitches, techniques, silhouettes that have existed for decades — then I remove anything unnecessary while adding those special personal details. Modernity, for me, comes from clarity, from knowledge, from allowing the material to speak while keeping sustainability values at the core. If a garment feels honest and human, it will always feel current.
With roots in Crete and an Italian heritage, how do these distinct cultures influence the textures, the color palette, and the silhouettes you choose?
Crete gives me earth, sun, and rawness. Italy gives me softness, intimacy, and elegance. This reflects in our palette — sun-faded whites, greens, warm browns, blues and vibrant reds and yellows. In the textures, there is always something tactile, slightly imperfect, alive. In the silhouettes, there is ease — garments that move with the body, not against it. There’s so much beauty and heritage in both cultures — l feel lucky we are able to experience this everyday and blend into our creations.
You prioritize using natural, unprocessed raw wool and cotton sourced from Greece. What motivated this commitment, and how does it impact the final quality?
The decision was emotional before it was strategic. I wanted local materials that felt alive — that still carried the scent of the land, the irregularity of nature and a sense of traditional folklore dressing. Greek wool and cotton have a deep history and soul. Our yarns, specially made for nonna lietta, are barely treated, not stripped of their character. This means the knitwear breathes differently. It ages beautifully. It softens with time. It becomes personal. You don’t just wear it — you live in it.
You champion Greek production and traditional techniques. Can you describe the journey of finding and collaborating with local artisans?
It was a very slow and deeply human journey. In the last 2 decades the textile industry in Greece has been faced with enormous challenges as many artisans were forced to close down their factories after demand declined radically with the Chinese market’s explosion. Finding small workshops and factories, people who had almost stopped believing their knowledge mattered has been a challenging process. Finally finding the right people and working together believing in what we do has been a great gift and an extraordinary journey so far. They teach me as much as I bring to the table. These partnerships are the backbone of nonna lietta — a way to carry on the Greek textile tradition and build up on our heritage.
The brand is described as ‘deeply human at its core,’ and we see the ‘Sharing Caring Initiative.’ Could you elaborate on this?
In collaboration with the greek independent non-profit organisation Lesvos Solidarity we started in 2023 our ongoing program called “sharing caring’’. An initiative through which we aim to support the organisation by raising funds once a year — an online sale is run online through which a percentage of the proceeds go directly to the organization. We also reinforce the program by conducting workshops where, with the help of pioneers in the arts & crafts sector, we visibly mend nonna lietta sample knits which then are sent to the οrganization’s hospitality fractures in Lesvos island.
A few words about the organization. The Lesvos Solidarity non profit organization is based in Lesvos island in Greece. It is a grassroots organization operating since 2012 who started as an independent, open refugee camp in the island. Lesvos solidarity supports people in need – refugees and locals – by offering housing, medical, mental health and psycho-social support, access to education while advocating for an inclusive society who respects human rights. They envision a solitary society by promoting integration, equality, trust and respect, creativity, empowerment and active social participation.
At nonna lietta we share the same ethos with Lesvos Solidarity and we believe that by being active citizens we put a small brick into building a more solitary world.
For customers new to unprocessed yarns, how would you describe the tactile experience and longevity?
At first, it surprises people, especially our greek wool. The texture is honest and raw — not overly polished. But very quickly, it becomes familiar, comforting. The garment adapts to you. It holds warmth without heaviness. Our greek cotton on the contrary is super soft, it breathes in and out — a great summer and all year companion. These are pieces meant to last years, not seasons. They are meant to be repaired, passed on, remembered.
Since launching in 2018, what has been the toughest lesson about scaling such a values-driven brand?
That growth must never come at the cost of integrity. Saying no — to speed, to overproduction, to shortcuts — has been extremely difficult. But every time we choose slowness, we protect the soul of the brand and consequently the values we advocate for. Scaling, for us, means deepening, not expanding endlessly.
‘Childhood warmth’ is a powerful theme in your work. How do you translate that into a wearable piece?
I think about familiarity and safety. About the feeling of being known and held. We design garments that wrap, that soften the body, that don’t demand anything from the wearer. I hope that when someone puts on a nonna lietta piece, they feel grounded — like returning home.
Looking five years ahead, what is the next big area of growth or innovation for Nonna Lietta?
Creatively, I want to go deeper into craft — exploring forgotten techniques, investing in innovative yarns, expanding our dialogue with artisans. On a mission level, I want nonna lietta to become a reference point for humane fashion and knitwear in particular — a brand that proves you can create beauty without exploitation. If in five years our garments are still being worn, loved, and remembered — that will be the greatest success.
