Mary Katrantzou Spring 2013 Pret-a-porter

 

You find me in a mixed state of Melancholy, Worry and pessimism mixed with a feeling of peace with the world and semi-contentment with the way my own life is planning out, even though it is not planning out as well as I, or my parents, might wish. I've come to terms with this. The results of two years of hard work came out in August - not quite as well as I need to go where I want to go, but not bad enough to destroy all chances. I have accepted this and am looking forward to whatever life throws at me. It's too much stress and too depressing to be staring back at the recent past with regrets. I regret not working harder, but since I can't change what has happened that drastically (and my school was really not being so helpful when last I broached the subject of re-takes etc.) I won't let it hold me back. Learn from this, Move on. These words are valid to many things in life, and I'm semi-glad that I have this attitude. 
The Melancholy, Worry and Pessimism are for different things. Sometimes I wonder if the world is falling apart, and if we're going to fall back into another great war, and hesitate to think that it feels like it's 'them' and 'us' even though it shouldn't be, and we're all human and should accept one another. Then I get angry about how stupid people can be, on both sides. So yeah... nonsensical, egotistical little paragraph is now over. :)

On another note, I have finally reached the semi-depressing stage where my wardrobe is literally full to bursting and I still have another pile of things which need to go in. Oh dear. Either I negotiate the eventual takeover of the whole of my sister's wardobe or hang up an extra rail or, and this is the not-going-to-happen-but-I-really-wish-it-could option, persuade my Father to convert our loft into one enormous wardrobe for my benefit, like the above (The above is NOT my wardrobe)

So, back to Fashion and Style, and posted a day later than I meant to, having chosen my favourite pieces of this collection an hour before Downton Abbey yesterday, after which I was too tired to get around to writing and posting. I am, as you can sort of guess from the Blog title, doing a post about Mary Katrantzou's latest collection. I hope you enjoy.

When I was around twelve or thirteen, I collected Stamps for the space of about a year. I got bored rather quickly, though I still have those stamps and think they're beautiful (I love each one. So many different styles and colours, a snapshot into the world, the global nature of the world we live in, something which might have travelled around the world on the back of itself. A snapshot into History - I had stamps from countries which don't exist anymore, stamps with important figures and stamps with decomissioned boats. A snapshot into the exotic - birds of paradise alongside vibrant tropical flowers) Why did I grow tired of my modest collection? Probably because I couldn't understand Stamps as well as I might have liked. I couldn't understand how to class them, how much they were worth and how rare they were, even how to get them and it was taking too long to create a competent collection. Bref, Stamps were not really my thing... until I saw yesterday's Mary Katrantzou Spring 2013 collection where my renewed interest came alongside a Fashion tour de force, beautiful, sophistcated and oh so chic.

There was something romantic and even melancholic (like the way I'm feeling today) about the collection.  Mary Katrantzou is fast becoming, in my eyes at any rate, the true Queen of the print. At her hands, we've had offerings of (and reminiscent to) metallic wires, scales, feathers, flowers, Fabergé eggs, Meissen porcelain, cloisonné enamel, Ming vases, Sophisticated Interiors, Architectural details, portraits of Madame de Pompadour, kaleidoscopic swirls, spiraling, fluid forms of artisanal blown glass, sharp-angled geometric explosions and  images of perfume bottles. All this since Autumn 2009 where she presented her debut collection. In the space of three years, she has risen high on the list of designers which most inspire me, and has carved an international name for herself. So, I have established that Mary Katrantzou can turn pretty much anything into a delicious print, perfect on her beautiful silhouettes...
Yesterday's collection distinguished itself from her past one. She brough forward the geometry and complicated simplicity of A-lines, shirtdresses, shifts, and sheaths. A geometry only re-inforced with the delightful patterns. Take this, the serrated edges of a stamp; the perfect pattern to trace down the side of a narrow pair of trousers.

Note: Believe it or not from the photos, Katrantzou used denim for the first time at the beginning of the show. If you look closer at these top three dresses, you'll see it, and hopefully it will make you (like me) love the design of the dress all the more for it. :)

 

 

 

Of course, stamps were not the sole inspiration. The spirals and delicate colours of a banknote were apparent in many of the designs, with shimmery, light colours fusing together to create a delicate, elegant effect.

That particularly stunning outfit crystallized just how refined Katrantzou's eye has become at abstracting pure form from her inspirations.

 

Thank you for reading, please comment and do follow!