London-based, Greek-born fashion designer Mary Katrantzou launched the first runway event of the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, which runs from March 18 to 24, with a colorful bang.
Postage stamps, spoons, coat hangers and pencil nibs were repeated, distorted and twisted into eye-catching patterns. It is pointless to list the colors in her collection as she seemed to have used them all.
Then, unsatisfied, Katrantzou heightened their visual impact with metallic-shot detail and heavy beading around necklines. The garments’ silhouettes were defined by the stiff fabrics in use. Ensembles were created out of sectional pieces that were structured so that outfits fit together like a three-dimensional jigsaw.
Katrantzou was born in Athens, to an interior designer mother and a father who trained in Textile Engineering. She moved to the United States in 2003 to study architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. She then moved to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, where she completed both her Bachelor and Master’s Degree. Her thematic collections revolve around an icon of luxury, an object from art or design that a woman would not be able to wear if it were real.
In November 2011, Katrantzou received the British Fashion Award for Emerging Talent in women’s wear. In February, 2012 she was proclaimed Young Designer of the Year at the Elle Style Awards. She also saw the release of her much anticipated collaboration with Longchamp creating a capsule collection of their signature bags and totes.
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