Mary Katrantzou: Spring/Summer 2011

September 23, 2010

She creates what looks like package design for the body, and I mean that in a good way. Her prints, placement and colors along with the silhouettes represent functional ornament with an industrial edge. Katrantzou is an amazing print designer, well-known for her innovation in digital prints…(which I’m still trying to find out if that means it’s a direct digital print on the fabric/garment? or if it’s sublimation print?…or some other process I don’t know about...it looks too detailed and sharp for direct print, but she uses silk..hmmm… anyway….) In this collection, she showed trompe l’oeil prints that depicted architectural design and florals with structured shoulders, sheer draped long trains, and shaped minis, that made the models resemble grand entrances, columns, or lamps.

Its imprinted fashion at its most architectural, not only in theme but in placement as well, yet it did not have a billboard look to it, or a shrink-wrapped advertising vibe. I like the idea behind this collection, and can see very wearable interpretations of it. This collection has been described as, “strong, surreal, heady, hyper-real, fabulous, dazzling, artful…” by various publications, it was over-all positive praise for Mary Katrantzou’s surreal take on fashion for Spring/Summer 2011. What do you think?

For more info: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/scorecard-mary-katrantzou-wins/