Mary Katrantzou

London Fashion Week is now drawing to an end and I've been coveting some of the collections online. I'm always drawn to the designs of Mary Katrantzou who is a pioneer of print and colour. Her latest Spring 2018 collection was no exception, with a full spectrum of bright colours and floral prints. She often draws her inspiration from her childhood, growing up in the 80s and has used Lego influences, as well as painting by numbers and even a few crocheted pieces in her collection.

The stunning floral above has been combined with a sporty nylon rainwear fabric.

I love this form-fitting crochet dress above. Who said crochet couldn't be sexy?!

I always gravitate to bright colours and the outfit above uses all my favourite colours. I love the Lego-influenced skirt design and flamingo handbag.

The outfit above uses another traditional technique - quilting.

The outfits above and below use a fabulously overblown floral. I love the way that some of the florals are kept as black and whites to give the feel of painting by numbers.

Mary Katrantzou

As a textile designer myself, Mary Katrantzou is a fashion designer who truly inspires me. She has been dubbed 'The Queen of Print' and incorporates stunning print and colour into all of her collections using digital printing, an eclectic mix of fabrics, and design inspiration from around the world. On Sunday I visited Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, the opulent home of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, where there is currently a temporary exhibition in the Stables, called Creatures and Creations. 

The exhibition includes some of the works of Mary Katrantzou and the exhibition shows an amalgamation of fashion, digital art and animal specimens inspired by Rothschild's collection of natural history.

Each of the three dresses were inspired by birds and butterflies and use stunning colour combined with digital print and layers of varying fabrics and beads to create beautiful items.

The Delias dress above is a triple-tiered and pleated lame corset dress with tulle underskirts and pleated lame and tulle butterfly on the breast.

The Alexandra dress above is printed crepe with a velvet neck insert, embroidered with Swarovski crystals, sequins and bugle beads using lurex thread, with heat-transferred crystal motifs.

The Papillon dress above is a printed tulle gown embroidered with sequins and bugle beads, with eleven layers of tulle underskirts.