Once again, Mary Katrantzou’s dense show notes sent many in the fashion pack straight to Google. Horror vacui? Kenophobia? Wikipedia revealed they both essentially mean “filling of the entire surface of a space or an artwork with detail.”
No kidding. Pushing herself beyond the digital prints that made her famous, Katrantzou unfurled a host of new ways to decorate clothes, employing technology from the automotive industry, traditional damasks, piles of plastic and spiky foam. (The last did double-duty as a treacherous runway, which models negotiated in hobbling skirts that kicked into ruffles past the knee.)
It made for a visually exciting show in which synthetic colors and textures were juxtaposed with more obvious signposts of luxury, including intarsia mink and Swarovski crystals — usually on the same garment.
Katrantzou kept shapes relatively simple, opening with minimalist bustiers and bodices in charcoal flannel as seamlessly sculpted as a car interior. Gradually her dresses and coats became more and more spectacular: the bodices paved in eyelash sequins, the waist banded in embossed leather, skirts exploding into cellophane ruffles.
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While some exits were stiff and ungainly, kudos to Katrantzou for her bold experimentation. Her damask duffle coats are likely to send the fashion pack straight to Net-a-porter.