mary has a little lamb

and that lamb's name is 'creative genius'! Originally from Athens, Greece, Mary Katrantzou was 19 when she went to study at the Rhode Island School of Design before transferring to complete her BA in textiles and MA in fashion at Central Saint Martins. She's worked with the likes of Sophie Kokosalaki and Bill Blass, to name a few.

Since launching her namesake label Katrantzou has created waves in the fashion industry for her innovative use of print, pattern & colour in shapes and forms that flow with the designs. She has gone from strength to strength in every way since launching with fairly simple, plain shift shapes with amazing Art Deco trompe l'oeil jewellery inspired prints to garments that really are stand-out works of art in terms of design as well.

Click image to enlarge (author's work)

The greatest thing to me about her work, apart from the sheer boundless imagination & passion that goes into the pieces, is how she really incorporates such different design inspirations into the collections. And the fact that this provides the capacity for collaborations with different people in creative areas.

For example, the London's Institute of Contemporary Arts latest exhibition, Sketches for Regency Living, showing Argentine-born but London-based artist Pablo Bronstein's retrospective drawings and architectural works, includes two choreographed dance pieces for which Katrantzou has designed costumes. The collaboration has resulted in two pieces: a gold clock print pant and peplum jacket combo for the morning show, and a draped flowing gown that includes a window print to 'frame the dancer's torso'  for the afternoon matinee. Her aesthetic lends itself perfectly to the project. The exhibition runs until September 25.

The London Regency-inspired dance costumes (fashiontelegraphuk)

Then there's the mind-tripping series of images shown below featured in Nomenus Quarterly. The custom-made sets, by photographer Erik Madigan Heck, were inspired by late-nineteenth century interior paintings by Pierre Bonnard and Eduoard Vuillard. The overall effect when combined with pieces from Mary Katrantzou's AW11 collection, and the model's blue hair, is so striking.

Above editorial images: Nomenus Quarterly/Erik Madigan Heck (pagesdigital)