Starting out in architecture, moving into interiors and then mastering the fashion world, Mary Katrantzou sure knows how to add the WOW factor to the catwalk ! Although always in black herself, her collections and collaborations can be described as nothing other than a carefully selected psychedelic mash up of colour and bold prints. Drawing inspiration from oversized jewellery, Meissen porcelain, perfume bottles, Fabergé eggs and many more beautiful objects, her work is undoubtedly beautiful in every way and not for the shy !
For a recent project we were asked to draw inspiration from a brand and produce designs that could potentially be used for an up and coming collection. I wanted to continue my use of bold colours and decided that Mary Katrantzou was the girl for me. Looking at the placement panel designs previously used in her collections and knowing that a recent collaboration with Hand and Lock had produced the most exquisite and heavily embellished garments i decided to take inspiration from Arabic art. The shaped used are just lovely, intertwining and usable in many different ways. I visited various places of worship and some very beautiful rug companies to create my initial designs. Again, time was limited and i would have liked to produce more heavily embroidered work but i’m quite happy with what i achieved, perhaps with my newly developed Photoshop skills i can continue to grow these designs to become a little more structured and suitable for the Mary Katrantzou brand. Have a look at a few of the designs and let me know what you think….
My attempt at a Photoshop visualisation………
All photos are of my own work, please do not use unless you have prior permission.
Here’s a rather lovely vide of Hand and Lock working on a Mary Katrantzou design…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzXuY6Y6COE
Ashley King Designs 