Mary Katrantzou S/S 2011 London

Image source: The Catwalking

Mary Katrantzou has really proved herself to be in London's top tier. Recently awarded with 100,000 euro from Swiss Textile Award for her brilliant S/S 2011 collection; I couldn't think of anyone more deserving. The collection itself was so opulent, but it was wonderfully counter-balanced by something I can't quite place my finger on; the silhouette, the styling, the venue itself? I don't exactly know. I've been waiting for a collection like this for what has felt like forever, and Mary has finally delivered. It's hilarious and witty, a technical masterpiece and, most of all, extremely pleasing.

The play on the everyday, domestic object written into a garment was so uncanny. Everything in the collection looks so familiar, yet so unfamiliar at the same time! I find it quite humorous really; people live in houses but here the houses live on the people. The prints are so intense and exciting yet at the same time cold, almost melancholy in their sharpness. I enjoyed how Mary offset it with humorous detailing that blended into the dresses as both a part of the picture and luxurious embellishments, bringing the trompe l'oeil forth into a 3D space. It will definitely fall into this season's '90s redux trend, with the once-in-a-glitzy-frame-now-in-a-thrift-store fantasy interior prints that once picked up by Balenciaga last season. I don't say that Ghesquiere necessarily borrowed ideas from Mary, but that those lines of influence might have occurred tells us how good she really is.