Four-eyed Fashion

From art for the walls to art for the wardrobe.

The excitement and hype surrounding Mary Katrantzou and her intricate prints has reached fever pitch in the last year. Her previous two collections have been some of the most photographed of the seasons, and the championing of her work by the incredible (and awesomely bonkers) Anna Dello Russo has put the young Greek-born, London-based designer under the spotlight, big time. But rather than letting the hype overwhelm her, or (worse) believing it, Mary Katrantzou seems to have utilised all the attention and challenged herself to keep upping her game. For her SS12 collection, gone were the interiors of previous seasons, and in came nature – abstract prints of flowers and fish covered her dresses and the newly introduced pantsuits. The silhouettes were also slightly less challenging, making for clothes that might be bought by women other than the aforementioned ADR, but without sacrificing the qualities that have brought Katrantzou so much editorial attention.

Particularly exciting, for Mary I’m sure, but especially for those of us who can’t quite justify the thousands of dollars for one of her pieces, is the news of a second Mary Katrantzou for Topshop collection to be released in February next year. The first prototype was unveiled at the Topshop press day a few weeks ago, and it looks so promising.

Staying true to her main line, but obviously at a lower price point, it’s got me pretty excited. Especially since Topshop is opening in Melbourne in early December. In extremely close vicinity to my place of employment. This. Is. Dangerous.