The term old-school applies to anything retro, vintage, or classic, but most often describes athletic wear (especially the long-lived Adidas side-stripe tracksuit) or sneakers (anything rappers rock are sure to be great).

Mary Katrantzou
SPRING/SUMMER 2014 READY-TO-WEAR
16 SEPTEMBER 2013 
 
 
 
See all show photosMARY KATRANTZOU has been sending some mixed messages of late. The designer has built her name on hyper-coloured trompe l’oeil prints (stamps, foreign money, and decorative interiors are just some of her subjects) but rewind to last winter, and she dived head first into moody hues of black and grey. It was a smart move because it proved she could do more than just colour-saturated pattern – she could do abstract silhouettes too, and in any case, those signature prints popped back for resort. And so today’s outing could have gone either way, or even, better still, a new way.

There were mixed messages surrounding her venue this afternoon too. She had decked out the grand room at 1 Great George Street, a Grade II listed Edwardian building, with an industrial set comprising rigging, tiered seating on scaffolding and a steely runway and backdrop. It was in complete juxtaposition to this building’s gilded marble columns, ornate frescos and oil paintings. What clues could her audience decipher?

Show-goers didn’t have to wait too long before getting into her head. Those digital prints are back, and this time it’s shoes as fetish.

Enlarged detailed images of gentleman’s brogues in polished mahogany leather with punched detailing and lacing; trainers with flashes of colour and vinyl inserts; and evening mules densely embellished. There was so much going on here – even in a single dress, let alone the entire collection – that it’s hard to know where to begin. There were sleeveless bikers with scuba zips, cropped or elongated, edged in rubberised leather and bonded. Cocktail mini dresses were engineered around the body, bursting with pleats or with explosions of origami-like folds at the bust. Katrantzou collaborated with the embroidery house, Lesage, searching its archive for pieces to distort and super size by 200 per cent. She printed the embroideries onto silk and then embroidered and embellished on top, creating a highly worked 3D effect. It was joyous, upbeat and fantastically feminine, but then, we knew she was capable of all of that before we set eyes on this collection – which was mesmeric, no doubt – but with print copyists everywhere, sat poised at computers, there was just a desire in the air to see the next chapter. Because one thing is for certain, this is a designer who isn't short on ideas. 

Sarah Harris