Foam pyramids (on garments and on the runway), paisley, and floral motifs were all over Mary Katrantzou’s fall/winter 2015 collection, shown at London Fashion Week on Sunday. The Greek designer found inspiration in horror vacui—the fear of empty spaces—to create ruffled silhouettes with flared skirts, heritage floral fabrics, and decadent ductile ruffle trim. It was an exercise in combining Victorian opulence with techy utopia.
Playing off of the perception of the Victorian woman, Katrantzou used Swarovski crystal and sequin embroidery on voluminous, column silhouettes. By using automotive textile technology (the same type of manufacturing responsible for the shape of car roofs) the designer developed seamless, sculpted forms without the use of stitching. Modernist restraint in shape met maximalist style in ornate (and sometimes odd) detailing and embellishments.
Highlights within this collection include: skirts featuring hand-folded strips of Polyvinyl Chloride, coated, dimensional embroidered damasks with emulated slim plastic strands, feminine heritage prints offset on masculine parkas, intarsia mink, graphic foam appliqués, sheer silk pleats and tech-based accents.
