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Once Again: Mary Kantrantzou x Topshop

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Even with collaborations such as Lanvin for H&M or Missoni for Target, this has to be the high street – designer collab I anticipated the most.

First of all, some of you may frown and think, “Mary who?”.  Mary Katrantzou, born in 1983, is a Greek fashion designer who currently lives and works in London. She was born in Athens, to an interior design mother and a father who trained in Textile Design.

Mary has always been famous with her strong silhouettes and, most of all, her brave, creative prints. From her perfume bottle-prints Fall/Winter 2009 collection to the interior design-inspired Spring 2011 collection, she always presents cutting-edge, in-your-face print designs.

“I always work on a thematic collection, so it starts with a strong image… My collections have been thematic, ranging from perfume bottles, to interiors, to 18th century portraiture, to Objects D’Art…” she said to Fashionista.com

Fall / Winter 2009 collection, inspired by perfume bottles

Spring / Summer 2011 collection, inspired by interior designs. See the drape with tassels skirt, chandelier necklace, and lampshade skirt?

Fall / Winter 2011 collection, inspired by Chinese porcelains and other art objects that decorate luxurious homes. No wonder many dubbed this as the sequel of her Spring / Summer 2011 collection.

Fall / Winter 2012 collection, which was inspired by flora and fauna.

Therefore, as soon as Topshop announced their collaboration once again with Mary Katrantzou (yes, they’ve worked together before), I could hardly wait to see it for myself. But thanks to social media, I didn’t have to wait long to get a sneak-peek at one of the pieces. A Grazia writer tweeted a picture of one of the dresses, and famed blogger Susie Bubble (who attended the press preview) also grabbed the photo.

And it was stunning. The signature colorful mixed prints, the voluminous skirt and the classic, structural silhouette are all there, and it’s beyond gorgeous.

Many high street retailer collaboration with high-end designers ended up disappointing, because the collection turned up to be a watered-down version of the runway collection. That’s why I’m psyched to see that Mary Katrantzou’s for Topshop is not like that (at least from the sneak-peek). Instead of translating the Katrantzou vibe into something high street, Mary created something that seemed like it was directly taken from the runway.

Not much information yet about other the pieces, but if this dress is an indication of what’s to come, this has got to be the most true-to-designer collaborations we’ve seen lately.

The 14-piece collection will be available at Topshop, online and offline, starting February 2012. And the dress above will retail for £350, or $560. Rather pricey for Topshop, but I believe this is one of those dresses that deserve the price.

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