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By Elis Kiss
Mary Katrantzou’s signature prints have reached new levels of recognition. The Greek-born, London-based fashion designer is one of three nominees in the Designer of the Year category at this year’s British Fashion awards. The young designer is in top fashion company, with her fellow nominees being established designer Stella McCartney, who, besides working on her namesake brand, was the creative force behind the British team’s kit at the recent London Olympic Games, as well as critically acclaimed Christopher Kane, whose innovative take landed him the designing post at Versace’s secondary line, Versus. Featuring catwalk collections for spring-summer 2013, London Fashion Week gets under way on Friday, September 14, with Katrantzou presenting her collection on Sunday, September 16. The awards, meanwhile, will be announced on November 27. Born in Athens in 1983, Katrantzou studied architecture at Rhode Island School of Design before focusing on fashion and textile design at London’s Central Saint Martins, where she earned both a BA and an MA. She subsequently worked for fellow London-based, Greek-born designer Sophia Kokosalaki and American createur Bill Blass, among others, before moving on to developing her own brand. In 2010 Katrantzou earned the Swiss Textiles Award, a distinction accompanied by a 100,000-euro cash prize aimed at enabling rising fashion talent to get established in business. The designer has also collaborated on a series of joint projects with British retailer Topshop, French accessories brand Longchamp and Vodafone UK, among others. |
