If you've ever visited my blog before you'll of figured out by now that I'm a big fan of London designer Mary Katrantzou. From industrial jewelry to prints of perfume bottles, interior design and luxury art, every season is brimming with creativity and progression whilst managing to stay true to Katrantzou's signature hyperreal aesthetic. I've kept an eye on her collections since her fashion week debut, but this season I was honored with being able to see the collection first hand. The models emerged from giant metallic canisters and walked around a central strip of 12,000 colour blocked carnations, each precisely cut to the same length and contained within a metal grid, a visually overwhelming installation that embodied the collection perfectly.
It took me a while to get the hang of timing my pictures and it didn't help that I was using a complex camera I'd borrowed from Goldsmiths and had no clue how to use (when I went into the media department and was asked what type of camera I would like to borrow I answered 'one that can take pictures of moving models'.) Surprisingly, in spite of my photographic ignorance, I managed to take some pretty good pictures.
This seasons prints were a jigsaw blend of saturated natural imagery and metallic industrial scrapheaps. The collection wasn't concerned with the Romantic preoccupation of battle between nature and manmade artificiality. Instead coral reefs and cherry blossoms trickled fluidly into chromium car parts and tin cans, unifying the two oppositions and soaking the models in vivid, intense colour. Needless to say I was once again awestruck by Mary's seemingly limitless creativity and artistic vision.
And then there was the finale dress, a Jetson-esque sculpture of metallic debris which looked as if it were orbiting the model. I cannot imagine the amount of hours it took to make but every second was worth the spectacle, and the adorable look on Hamish Bowles' face in the picture below.
I particularly loved the coral reef print dresses and the colour block print suits, my trigger finger is an indicator of this as I have a lot more pictures of my favorite outfits. Katrantzou began her career with silk shift dresses but with last seasons lampshade skirt (made famous by Anna Dello Russo) and this seasons pleats, trains and intricate beading it's apparent that her vision is becoming ever more complex. After the show I headed backstage and took some more pictures including some close ups of the breathtaking final dress.
And then it was all over. Within five minutes of the show ending the bustling venue was empty save for the army of men clearing the sea of carnations in preparation for the Meadham Kirchhoff show.
To finish I'd just like to thank Mary and her team for putting on such a fantastic show and PR extraordinaire Megan Whitehead who was incredibly sweet and looked after me during my first foray into London Fashion Week.
