IF the Brit school is the nation’s leading manufacturer of pop stars, then Central Saint Martins College (CSM) is any would-be fashion designer’s equivalent.
British designers Stella McCartney, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton, Katherine Hamnett, Bruce Oldfield, Jenny Packham, Matthew Williamson and Christopher Kane all studied there. But that’s just the tip of the industry’s iceberg.
As not only Britain’s, but one of the world's top places to study fashion, CSM is the proverbial little black dress of fashion schools. A well respected classic that never goes out of fashion.
Mary Katrantzou would certainly agree.
As for seeing your ‘work’ replicated on the high street? I think after the shock of it first happening and wanting to rebel against it, you realise it happens to every designer and most of the time you don’t mind. Sometimes you do.
Originally from Athens, Katrantzou studied textile design at CSM back in 2005. Less than a decade later and she’s just flown over from the Met Gala ball in New York to Manchester where she’s presenting eleven pieces of her latest collection to customers at Selfridges Exchange Square. A fairly standard week in the life of the 29-year-old, whose big break came when Bill Blass bought some of her early print designs.
Her collections are now known for their bold, digitally placed prints arranged to flatter the female form. Katrantzou’s designs are to modern day fashion what René Magritte artworks were to the 1920s art world. Surreal. You won’t be able to break your stare easily.
Despite jetting in from the super glam Met Ball, Katrantzou is as enthusiastic about visiting Manchester for an albeit more intimate affair.
“My grandmother was actually born in Manchester. I only just found this out today.”
Still, the Met Ball must have been exciting?
“It was amazing for people watching but it was over very fast. Beyonce was at the table right next to me. She looked incredible.”
The real star of the fash pack in Mary’s eyes however, was of course supermodel Karolina Kurkova who wore one of her designs.
Karolina Kurkova In Mary Katrantzou At The Met Ball (images @karolinakurkova Instagram)
“Whatever she wears she pulls off; she has an amazing body and she is a great girl too. It was actually an archive piece she had originally picked for the after party and last minute we said let’s go with it. It was short, a bit rebellious and unexpected. It was cool and she accessorised it to make it really punk (the 2013 Met Ball theme).”
Karolina, and indeed Beyonce, are all but two of the myriad of stars who not only wear Mary’s pieces, but actually pay the price tag rather than waiting to be ‘gifted’. It goes to show the genuine level of credibility Mary has carved out for her brand.
Jessica Alba, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna and Katrantzou’s personal favourite, Keira Knightley, are also part of the celebrity following.
“I think when Keira Knightley wore one of our dresses over a year ago to the Venice Film Festival she looked incredible and it changed the perception of how people saw my work.
“She wore a dress that was very elegant. People normally found print too bold and scary. She shifted that perception for me at that stage.
“Now the diversity of celebrities wearing it infiltrates into our actual non-celebrity customer base. It’s now quite diverse in age and occupation.
“We actually had an older customer base to begin with. Originally it was the perfect dress for a woman, say in her 50s, a fitted dress to the knee for those who didn’t want to show too much but wanted to make a statement and feel unique when entering a room. Collections have since evolved with more sculptured and shorter shapes too, and it’s now really mixed which is great. Print allows you to do that.”
Mary Katrantzou at Selfridges Exchange Square
With all that A-list love it was inevitable that all of womankind would follow. The power of celebrity is palpable these days. But there’s a slight problem for some would-be Katrantzou wearers. The price.
Pay a visit to high street shop Zara and you’ll be guaranteed to see several Katrantzou copycats. They’ve not gone unnoticed at Katrantzou HQ either.
“You go through different emotions” she said.
“One of the reasons we did the Topshop collections (the first of which sold out within the first few days of its release) was because I saw a lot of the lampshade skirts I designed being copied by the high street and no one knowing where they originated. I thought if it’s going to be on the high street anyway, I really want to collaborate with Topshop who I know will take care of the quality. It’s also good to broaden your customer base. After all, they could be future customers who will buy into my collections.
Mary Katrantzou“As for seeing your ‘work’ replicated on the high street? I think after the shock of it first happening and wanting to rebel against it, you realise it happens to every designer and most of the time you don’t mind. Sometimes you do, when it’s so close it can be a bit like a slap in the face. But for the most part they’re not identical but more ‘inspired by’.”
From the high street to haute couture, Zara to Katrantzou, it’s commonplace for fashion to evolve through clearly laid out trends each season and it is, by and large, adhered to. So what about when print is no longer the ‘in’ thing.
Breaking into laughter, as though she’d expected and prepared for the question since graduating all those years ago, Katrantzou confidently and convincingly fought her corner.
“Print is a way of decorating a dress that communicates very directly to somebody. There’s so much scope. It’s become more than a trend.”
They don’t call her the Queen of Print for nothing.
Mary Katrantzou is available at Selfridges Exchange Square. Prices start from £260.
Follow Lynda Moyo on Twitter @lyndamoyo
