Mirabelle Marden and Alia Raza
When the New York-born-and-raised photographer Mirabelle Marden invited a handful of her closest friends—the musician Diego Dueñas, Régime des Fleurs’s Alia Raza, and the artist Olympia Scarry—to visit her at her family’s retreat on Hydra, Greece this summer, the response was unanimous: “We all said, ‘Let’s do it,’” recalls Raza, who, between a recent transatlantic move and the launch of her new skin-care line, Topi Botanic, was long overdue for an opportunity to unplug. “I travel a lot for my job, but this was a rare thing for me,” she continues. “A trip that was an actual holiday.” Fast forward to July, Dueñas, Raza, and Scarry convened in Athens, where they dined at the Asian fusion bistro Nolan and took in art both old and new (the Benaki Museum and Rebecca Camhi Gallery were standouts, says Raza). From there, they boarded the two-hour ferry to the Aegean island.
Upon arriving at the car-free town’s port, the trio of travelers were met by donkeys, which carried their belongings (sheer silk caftans from Desert Vintage, in Raza’s case) up to Marden’s home—an 18th century, sun-soaked house overlooking the Saronic Gulf that her parents—the painters Brice and Helen Marden—happened upon in the 1970s, a decade after Hydra became a destination for the likes of Leonard Cohen and the Rolling Stones. (These days, Phoebe Philo can be seen strolling its crescent-shaped harbor.) The week of rest and relaxation that ensued was capped off with a sunset sail—and a power outage, which turned out to be the ultimate respite. “We walked home from the port through town, and we saw what the island looked like two hundred years ago before there was electricity,” Raza muses. Their final meal—an alfresco dinner in the property’s jasmine-scented garden—was lit by candles. “It was a beautiful last night.”
Below, Raza takes Vogue inside her Hydra, Greece escape (and perfectly stocked suitcase).
Alia Raza’s Packing List
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