This is not a room. But it is a dress. Mary Katrantzou’s premise for her first stand-alone show was a multi-dimensional homage to home furnishings. If you’ve ever been caught with nothing to wear, spare a thought for your draperies and, like Katrantzou, transform it into a dress. Her idea for the new spring collection: to put the room on the woman, rather than leave the woman in the room.
Mary has always used her prints to challenge perceptions of depth and reality. It has, as we like to say in fashion speak, become her signature. Taking cue from surrealist artist René Magritte, and old back issues of Architectural Digest, this season’s collection looks at the interior space of a room. Like Magritte, it shows a juxtaposition of ordinary objects in an unusual context. A window creates a frame for strong shoulders; curtain-like chiffon adds fluidity and movement. Theatrical, and with a touch of humour.
A little too literal at times, with beads adorning the hemline of skirts, while fringing embroidered the bodice of dresses. The jokes on us, no? No doubt Mary’s prints are spectacular, her ideas are the most-forward thinking of any current designer, but the clothes themselves can’t always regarded in the same breath. Indeed, the collection as sum of all parts was strong, somehow connected through their altered perception, yet there were a few odd-ones-out. You can tell the designer is evolving her fashion repertoire, no longer defining her worth by her dresses, but her separates still need some fine-tuning. Her dresses are forgiving for women; they respect a woman’s figure. But how many size 12 women feel comfortable exaggerating their hipline with a Victorian lampshade? The clothes are desirable for most, but not all.
To see Mary Katrantzou’s complete S/S collection visit Style.com
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