Our People
The studio
Our People
More people make Antara than appear on this page. There is a supply chain team, sales representatives, and others who keep the work moving day to day.
These seven are the ones whose hands are on it most directly.
They work across four countries: Australia, Cambodia, the Philippines and China. Their heritage is Greek, Filipino, Lithuanian and Nepali. For a house called Antara International, none of that was the plan. It is simply how the work found its people.
The Greek thread is not decorative. Three of us grew up with these stories long before they were ever put on a garment.
Titles matter less here than results. Everyone contributes ideas regardless of role, and everyone touches the work.
Gabriel Apostoli
Founder & Creative Director
Greek-Australian · Melbourne, Australia
Antara began with Gabriel drawing. He had sketched since childhood, and in 2019 he turned to Greek mythology looking for a subject with weight behind it: strength, symbolism, legacy. Greek-Australian himself, he was not borrowing the material. The first piece he released, the Zeus & Hera T-shirt, sold over a hundred units in six months.
A meeting at David Jones' Melbourne head office set the direction that has shaped everything since: luxury, or wholesale. Not both. Gabriel chose luxury, then spent a year working under a tailor at Calibre learning construction, fit, and how a garment is actually built.
He oversees design, creative direction, manufacturing, supplier relationships and brand strategy. He believes luxury should have purpose rather than simply display a logo, and that a piece should reward its owner the more they learn about it.
Jayson Manio
Head Designer & Product Development
Filipino · based in Cambodia
Jayson leads design and product development across the Antara collections, working from the house's original artwork through to the finished garment. His remit runs from silhouette and construction detail to tech packs, manufacturing communication and production refinement.
Antara does not buy garments and rebrand them. Every piece is developed from the ground up, and Jayson is where that work happens. He runs the revisions, the fit and wash testing, and the small corrections that never reach the customer but decide whether a garment lasts a decade.
Sofia Apostoli
Journalist & News Editor
Greek-Australian · Melbourne, Australia
Sofia oversees Antara's editorial voice, which covers the journal, collection notes, interviews, documentary and behind-the-scenes work, and the stories behind individual pieces.
A house built on mythology and archive only works if those stories are told properly rather than assumed. Greek-Australian like the founder, she writes about the material from inside it rather than at a distance.
Terry “Tezz” Boukouvalas
Brand Ambassador & Styling
Greek-Australian · Melbourne, Australia
Terry represents Antara publicly and produces the house's styling work: outfit breakdowns, product discussions, and the kind of content that shows how a piece is actually worn rather than simply photographed.
Antara has grown almost entirely through people who wear the work and vouch for it. Ambassadors here are asked to build community and make authentic work, not scripted promotion. Greek-Australian and Melbourne-based, Terry moves in the same community the house came from.
Ashim Aryal
Supply Chain & Logistics
Nepali · based in China
Ashim and his team manage the movement of everything Antara makes, from warehouse relationships and international shipping to sourcing, packaging logistics and supplier coordination.
For a house that produces in small runs and to order, getting a piece from the workshop to the wearer on the day it was promised is its own discipline. Working out of China puts him close to the manufacturing side of that equation.
Egle Grigonyte
Studio Manager
Lithuanian · based in Sydney, Australia
Egle keeps the studio running, from scheduling and correspondence to the organisation and administration sitting behind every order. She also leads boutique outreach, which makes her the first point of contact for stockists and retail partners.
She is often the first person a client hears from, and a large part of the reason things arrive when they are meant to.
Genelyn “Nini” Patinio
Sales & Outsourcing Partner
Philippines
Nini brings nearly a decade of sales and outsourcing experience to Antara, supporting companies across technology, marketing and recruitment. She is the founder of NinisCoffee, an outsourcing company providing remote staffing across lead generation, customer success and creative support.
Her partnership extends Antara's operational reach, and lets the studio stay focused on the work itself.
Quality you feel. Restraint you recognise.
Antara International · Melbourne · est. 2019