Mary Katrantzou is a Greek fashion designer, internationally recognized for her talent and inventiveness.
She has occasionally received rave reviews from Vogue magazine, won fashion awards such as this one
of the Emerging Talent in Britain (2011) and the Designer of the Year Award (2012) from Elle magazine.
Her infinite talent and hard work led her to success, as she managed to enter the international fashion scene
and to dominate, to reintroduce prints and to redefine the great fashion industry with its aesthetics.
Her unique creations have reached the White House, and she has collaborated with the biggest companies
such as Victoria’s Secret, Longchamp, Adidas etc.
The first steps
He was born in Athens, in January 1983, and one can say that his talent and aesthetics in a way
were “inherited” to her, since her mother is a well-known interior decorator,
while her father is in the textile business.
In 2003, he started studying architecture at the Rhode School of Design, in America, but shortly afterwards he started to study architecture at the Rhode School of Design, in the United States.
left her studies there to follow her dream and went to Central Saint Martins College Art and Design in London,
where he received a bachelor’s and master’s degree.
In 2005, he graduated from college and that was the moment he gave up printing for interiors and
was transferred to prints in fashion and textiles.
The first “opening” in her career was in 2008, at the Saint Martins alumni show, where she presented her first
creations, with the central theme of prints of oversized jewellery on flannel dresses,
which created the illusion that they were wearing giant accessories, which would be too heavy in reality.
Her collection received a nomination for the Professionalism Award from L’Oreal and Harrods, and in the same year she made a
debuted at London’s Winter Fashion Week, impressing the public and fashion magazines.
The principle of recognition
In 2009, she opened London Fashion Week, where she presented her first ready-to-wear collection (spring-summer 2009)
with the support of the British Fashion Council.
A collection for Topshop was presented at London Fashion Week for Autumn/Winter 2010 and was available
in stores in February 2011, and the clothes sold out within the first few days of their release.
The first distinction was not long in coming, in 2010, he won the Swiss Textiles prize in Zurich, succeeding Alexander Wang, the previous winner of the award.
Mary Katrantzou “dared and succeeded”, the English Vogue has written, she implemented an innovation,
presenting clothes with brightly coloured prints all over their surface.
“When I started, prints in fashion were specific. People wore floral or geometric shapes,
but they didn’t used to ‘wear’ a bottle of perfume, for example,” she has said in an interview.
In September 2018, Mary Katrantzou celebrated ten years of presence in the field of haute couture and
celebrated at London Fashion Week.
“These ten years have been difficult, but they have given me a wonderful creative journey. There are moments that I will hardly forget, like when I first bought my clothes at the famous Paris boutique ”Colette”, whose windows I have been looking at since I was a child.
After ten years of work I feel more liberated and more sure of myself.
I’m lucky to have made a career out of what I love,” she said on the night of the show.
The models wore the designer’s creations or “works of art”, as they were described by the English press,
and in combination with the imposing and pompous music by the Greek composer of international fame, Vangeli,
created an atmosphere that transported the viewer into the unique world of the designer.
Her relationship with Greece is easily discernible if one looks at the clothes she designs but also at the
professional partnerships he chooses to make.
The take-off
Her decade-long presence in the fashion industry counts many successes, the clothes and delicate fabrics she uses
have been worn by the former first lady of America, Michelle Obama.
The art world and especially Hollywood love the dresses of the Greek designer,
with Beyonce, Adele, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cate Blanchett, among others, bowing down to her creations.
She chooses to always wear black clothes and almost never her own creations.
“I think there are two types of designers: those who wear their own clothes and become advocates for their brand and those
wearing monochrome clothes to shift the focus away from themselves and closer to their work.
I definitely belong in the second category,” she has said in an interview.
Its clothes are now sold in more than 200 fashion stores worldwide, as well as in 47 countries.
Although he is only 35 years old, he has reached high peaks in a very short time,
leaving her own personal mark in the world of Global Fashion.
Mary Katrantzou is a brilliant young woman who, driven by her talent and hard work, has succeeded.
He is an example and inspiration for new generations of Greek designers (and not only), since he dared and succeeded.
She shares a bit of her colourful inner world through her creations,
carrying and showcasing Greece all over the world.
For more inspiration, find me on social media, Facebook and Instagram!
I kiss you,
Maria Dretaki
