All Babes are Wolves: Mary Katrantzou, Queen of Prints

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Mary Katrantzou, Queen of Prints

I have only just 'discovered' this amazing designer, having noticed her fabulous dress on Blake Lively on Gossip Girl. I was quite taken by this amazing dress designed by Mary Katrantzou.

Ironically, Mary wears almost exclusively black despite being renowned for her boldly coloured and patterned designs. "I've only worn black since I was allowed to choose my own clothes. When you're around so much colour, you just don't see it the same way. on yourself. My Mum would dress me in all-matching patterns, like checkered outfits with a check bow in my hair to finish the look! But then, aged 12, I went through a grunge phase - black t.shirt with torn jeans and Dr Martens, or tight black tight with black converse, Now I wear black Alaïa dress all the time. It's my uniform!" (Harper's Bazaar) When I first saw her designs I thought they seemed like a mix of 90's Gianni Versace and Frida Kahlo - in fact this campaign reminds me of Frida.

Mary's mother was an interior designer and father a textile engineer. Growing up in leafy Athens, their home was decorated in warm colours, brass and glass objet d'art and tapestries. Unsurprisingly, Mary studied textiles and architecture before getting into fashion design. Her vibrant and flamboyant designs are inspired by Baroque and 18th Century paintings, trompe l’oeil (French for 'deceive the eye' - optical illusions), perfume bottles, blown glass, Ming Vases and Faberge eggs, and of course the spectacular colours of nature - butterflies, insects, plants. She loves Pierre Cardin, Jeff Koons, Dali and Schiaparelli. "It seemed very exotic to me that a model could wear my (textile) designs," she recalls. And soon enough, she decided that her prints were better suited for a body than upholstery and drapes. "I realized my prints were wearable... and I think they really change when they're worn. They're brought to life."

Mary is inspired by the shapes of women, harking back to the strong and curvy Amazonian shapes of the Greek Goddesses of her homeland. She is also inspired by Marchesa Luisa Casati, the 20th Century Italian heiress. "She was so avant garde and wore dramatic, unconventional costumes just to go to dinner parties, a bit like a Daphne Guinness of her day, I love both womens' styles and what they represent; they live it."

Marchesa Luisa Casati

"As the collection grows every season, the print becomes less definitive, and the silhouette becomes more complicated. I like taking elements from art and design that you wouldn't be able to wear in reality and then making a dress that's flattering. That part of my work has become really important, working around the female figure." Interview Magazine