58 posts tagged "Mary Katrantzou"
Black and White and Gray All Over
The London shows wrapped yesterday and, to our surprise, the city—known for its vibrant (in every sense of the word) young talents—gave us clothes in uncharacteristically subdued hues. Not that that’s a bad thing. As Marc Jacobs‘ show poignantly proved, gray is emerging as a prevalent Fall tone (perhaps a rebellion against the techno prints and acid shades we’ve seen in seasons past). And this held strong across the pond, with designers like Mary Katrantzou (above, center), J.W. Anderson, Richard Nicoll (above, left), and Thomas Tait favoring the shade. (Not that they were married to it. Tait, Nicoll, and Anderson each had splashes of orange, too.) Katrantzou—London’s princess of vivid prints—was a particularly unexpected (and successful) color convert, showing a meticulous collection that consisted mainly of black and gray, with hints of emerald, lilac and cobalt. But most surprising (and thrilling, for that matter) was Meadham Kirchhoff (above, right). The designers ditched their rainbow sequins and beloved disco palettes in favor of an almost entirely black, white, and ash Fall range. That’s not to say it was bland—vinyl ruffles (like the ones that trimmed the designers’ skirts and trousers), no matter what the shade, could never be bland. But it was indeed a directional departure from their typical kaleidoscopic mix. Don’t be mistaken—London’s pared-down palettes don’t mean the fog has taken over, and there were plenty of colorful clothes on offer to prove it. However, a few of the city’s talents have figured out that they don’t always need to employ prints and brights to pack a serious punch.
Behind the Scenes with Swarovski: Mary Katrantzou
The Swarovski Collective has helped over 150 fashion talents since its inception in 1999. This season, the crystal house’s initiative has given its support (and its stones) to fourteen cutting-edge talents. To celebrate and document the designers’ creative processes, Swarovski has produced behind-the-scenes films that follow every label on its journey down the Fall ’13 runway. Style.com will be giving you exclusive looks at two of Swarovski’s videos from each of the four fashion weeks. Next up is Mary Katrantzou, who showed her Fall collection on Saturday. To view all of our Fall ’13 Swarovski films, click here.
Behind the Scenes with Swarovski: Creatures of the Wind
The Swarovski Collective—the crystal house’s initiative to help promising young designers and established names—was started in 1999, after Isabella Blow introduced the Swarovski family to Alexander McQueen. “We saw then the magic that resulted from putting our crystals in the hands of cutting-edge talent, how they push the creative boundaries and limits of creative craftsmanship,” says Nadja Swarovski, the initiative’s founder, who notes that collaborating with young designers has been the “cornerstone” of the project from day one. “The fashion industry is fiercely competitive, and it’s incredibly hard for young designers to fulfill their creative potential season after season,” she adds. Indeed, Swarovski has done its part—the initiative has helped over 150 talents since it launched. This season, fourteen brands—Mary Katrantzou, Creatures of the Wind, Suno, and Eudon Choi among them—have been supported by Swarovski and its stones. And to further celebrate the designers’ creative processes, Swarovski has made behind-the-scenes films that follow every label on its journey down the Fall ’13 runway. Style.com will be giving you exclusive looks at two of Swarovski’s films from each of the four fashion weeks. The series kicks off with Creatures of the Wind, above.
Seeing a Pattern
On February 15, Phaidon Press will release Pattern, a book that highlights one hundred compelling fashion designers on the rise. Phaidon handed over the book’s curatorial duties to a group of ten designers and industry insiders (including stylist Keegan Singh, Preen’s Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi, the SHOWstudio team, and Business of Fashion‘s founder Imran Amed, just to name a few), each of whom chose ten talents to fill Pattern‘s pages.
The book (which is a follow-up to the 2005 fashion tome SAMPLE) features established designers (Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, Christopher Kane, Sarah Burton), well-known emerging labels (Eddie Borgo, Thomas Tait, Creatures of the Wind, Mary Katrantzou, whose work is pictured above), and proper newbies (Simone Rocha, Marques’ Almeida, Phoebe English, Maarten van der Horst). The designers’ diverse aesthetics, techniques and outlooks are presented via detailed introductions, backstage, campaign and editorial photographs, and never-before-seen sketches, all of which serve to give readers an in-depth understanding of their work. “For me, seeing that the designers had a consistent point of view that’s true to their style was important,” said Singh, whose picks include Cushnie et Ochs (left), Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, Tabitha Simmons, Dominic Jones, and Gianvito Rossi, among others. “You know, it’s like Azzedine Alaïa. He has his thing, and he always sticks to it,” he added. So does Singh think the next Alaïa is somewhere between Pattern‘s covers? “It’s a possibility!” he laughed. At the very least, he notes, “the book gives the young designers a chance to reach broader audiences; it exposes them to a whole new group of people.”
Pattern: 100 Fashion Designers, 10 Curators will be available on February 15, on phaidon.com.
Nicholas Kirkwood’s Big Win
Today in London, it was announced that shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood won the 2013 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund award, beating out nominees Mary Katrantzou, Roksanda Ilincic, Peter Pilotto, and Emilia Wickstead. Kirkwood walks away with a £200,000 prize and mentorship from industry insiders. This marks the start to a big year for Kirkwood, who launched his first men’s range during the London menswear shows earlier this month. Considering previous winners have included Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders, and Erdem Moralioglu, Kirkwood’s got some big shoes to fill, but we have a feeling he’s up for it.