Mary Katrantzou

Mary Katrantzou is a Greek fashion designer who currently lives and works in London.

2010, she was awarded the Swiss Textiles award  her collections can be found all over the world and is seen in Vogue, Dazed & Confused and Grazia then in 2011 she was awarded "The British Fashion Award for Emerging Talent"  then in 2012 Katrantzou was given the award for "Young Designer of the Year" at  Elle's Style Awards.Last year she collaborated with Addias and Topshop to create a collection for sports and high-street wear expanding her target market 

I was inspired by her Autumn/Winter 2013-14 collection where she decided to use darker and muted colours with tints of washed out blues and reds and green giving it a water colour effect. This collection is a contrast to most of the other collection Katrantzou has designed As most of them tend to use more Pastel and Vibrant-Stereotypical feminine colours. She was  inspired by landscape, black and white photography, being the same as what I have been inspired from.She incorporated the photography prints into her collection as she used scenic trees and architectural element like bridges which are two contrasting element as one is nature and one is man made which again is similar to my design idea of using the contrast of traditional and modern Japan. Another thing i like about this collection is the structure of her designs, its clear to see that she was inspired by Japanese shapes with the Kimono esq shoulders and sleeves and the wrap over dress that hangs at the front and back. Then a origami shaped shoulderless dress then the trousers with the hanging peice at the back that hangs just right so when the model walks it elegantly follows. When seeing this collection on the collection some of the designs seem quite stiff which is something I don't want in my collection as is doesn't have a a good flow when walking the catwalk but taking this out it's a good collection that i cant take elements of inspiration from the colour scheme and how she taken her theme of the photo and interrupted them into her design.

I Also I really liked her Spring/Summer 2015 collection  where she took a back seat from using digital printing and instead used beautiful embroidery. I find her inspiration for this collection intriguing as her theme was taken from a geological point of view looking at when the world was one large continent then started to drift apart which she illustrated by designing a outfit that with sandstone coloured trouser that shifts and flows with the models movements that has a sheer panel running down the side symbolises the plates of the earth moving apart she continues this theme on the top. Then as the collection progresses the garment get more detailed with the beautiful embroidery and mix of vibrant and pastel colours.That could possible symbolise the cracks and lava that began to appear as the earth evolves. Then she created a beautiful collared pastel blue dress with a black beaded hem then as you look closer the top of the dress is embroidered with hibiscus flower and iguanas that began to roam the paradise of earth before the evolution of humans. I love the progression of this collection and how for every garment that would come down the catwalk that shows the evolution of the earth. The collection is thought provoking and feminine.

Sources: http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-2015/ready-to-wear/mary-katrantzou