Print madness

MK SS13

Seeing Mary Katrantzou’s work is like dying and going to prints heaven. She officially is the queen of digital textile printing and with me she has scored herself a new fan.

Yesterday I attended the Fashion Festival organized at the beautiful and impressive V&A museum. It was all about fashion in every possible way. You could attend some workshops and go to some talks that were highly interesting. Of course I could not let the chance of listening to Mary being interviewed by Sarah Mower, ambassador for Emerging Talent for the British Fashion Council, go by. And I’m super glad I didn’t.

Miss Katrantzou – no idea on pronunciation of this – was born in Athens in Greece and always wanted to be an architect. But aren’t we glad she changed her mind! This 29-year-old girl came to Central Saint Martins in London through an exchange program and after falling in love with the City and her school, she transferred from her old university to CSM to join their Textile program. When she started out she was making all kinds of drapes, curtains and everything related to interiors – her mother was an interior designer. But she felt like her prints would even make more sense on garments. And that is kind of how it all got started. She was the rebel in school, experimenting with digital printing, which was completely taboo at the time she studies at CSM. But she felt like the traditional printing methods were holding her back and creating prints with Photoshop gives you infinite options. She likes to call it ‘Painting with pixels’ which makes her work even more poetic.

After graduating in 2008 she decided to dive into the fashion sea and create her own label. She joined the British Fashion Council, which made it possible for her to show her work in Paris. Completely overwhelmed by it all, she took of to the City of Lights with nothing more than a rack of clothes with no price tags or order sheets. Not expecting much at first has definitely changed now. With 260 stockists and a growing amount of famous clients all over the world, she has gone from another designer to fashion’s newest wunderkind in only a couple of years. A simple advice she would give to all aspiring designers? “Just take it step-by-step and don’t rush your way in. Make sure you have a team you can trust and love what you do.” And we love you, Mary!

Mary Katrantzou

Keira Knightly in MK

xoxo
Krazy K.

Going green

London is getting to me. That’s the only thing I can say to defend this green choice of mine. Seeing a lot of people looking fabulous with all kinds of colours in their hair, made me want to have a little experiment as well. So here it is. In all its glory.

I already did a pink ombré before I came here, so I wanted something else this time around. I was actually going for a more mint green look but it seems, after some digging, that this is a colour that is quite difficult to find. So a few days ago I ordered this Crazy Colour dye on Amazon and it fell through the mailbox only 3 days later. After seeing the colour first, I was slightly doubting to do it, because it seemed so bright. But I’m super happy with the result! Yay!

The only question that remains is: how long will this green galore last? I’m guessing some of you are hoping it will be long gone by tomorrow…

DIY

If you’re getting in the mood for some crazy colouring yourself, don’t be afraid to just do it. It’s so super easy – if I, super clumsy, can do it, you’ll be fine!

1. Wash your hair and comb it.

2. Make sure you have all your equipment ready: your dye, a brush, some gloves and a plastic bowl or something similar.

3. Put some of the colour in the plastic bowl – not too much if you’re just doing a dip-dye. You will only need a small amount of the colour.

4. Divide your hair into two parts.

5. Dye the tips of your hair to the height you want the colour to come.

6. Leave it in according to the instructions – Mine was 20 minutes.

7. Wash it out until the water becomes clear.

8. Perfect hair!

P.S.: Sorry for going a little crazy on the Christmas photo editing, I just couldn't resist bringing some of the Christmas joy to you!

xoxo

Krazy K. 

Jeans up your life

Winter is creeping in and I’m not quite sure yet how I feel about that! But it is the opportunity to invest in some cute and comfy jumpers. Okay, I admit I’ve gone a bit crazy on them. But that’s okay. I think.

Anyhowz, for the people who missed the supplement of ‘Het Belang van Limburg’ last weekend, shame on you! Because I was in it. But luckily for you guys, I have a crappy digital version of it - check the features section up there. I want to thank everyone for the lovely comments and great compliments I received from this. Big love from LDN to all of you.

Now, the outfit. I wore this thing when my mom was in town two weeks ago. I haven’t always been a fan of the jeans on jeans look but it seems to have grown on me. Jeans is just such a cool fabric that you can wear on almost every occasion. I paired it with my vans because we were walking all day and a  Zara coat.

Have a great weekend! Spread the bobby pins love.

P.S.: More on Victoria Beckham later, some complex matters are coming between you and a great story about her but I’m working on it.

xoxo 

Krazy K. 

Fashionable books

In our fast digital society, there is something very soothing in the reading of a book. I find it a perfect way to relax and at the same time it is a very inspiring act. Especially when you think of the amount of time the author has put up to create this piece for you to enjoy. Lately there has been a trend of fashion journalists, bloggers and designers that are writing up their ideas about different areas in the fashion industry. Some of them are definitely must-reads for people interested in everything related to fashion. But even if you’re not, it’s still cool to get a glimpse into their cool lives. I’ve composed a kind of top 3 of interesting books that should be on your to-read list.

Grace: a memoir by Grace Coddington

This book is hyping like crazy at the moment! Grace seems to be everywhere from the cover i-D to our bookshelves. The 71-year-old red head is a former model turned US Vogue fashion editor who featured in the documentary ‘The September issue’. She is the right hand of the queen of fashion Anna Wintour. And after her success in the Vogue documentary she decided to write down her memoirs. The cool lady visited London yesterday to do a book signing, which led a massive row of stiletto girls to Browns.

Buy the book here

The Sartorialist: Closer by Scott Schuman

A picture-led publication and the second book from Scott Schuman, the man behind the famous blog ‘The Sartorialist'. He is one of the biggest influences on streetstyle ever. His first book was a major success and this second one will make you travel the whole world to have a closer look at people’s style. This book can serve as a real inspirational tool if you have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear.

Buy the book here

Impact: 50 years of CFDA by Cathy Horyn and Diane Von Furstenberg

This book is a fantastic archive of great American designers. The Council of Fashion Designers of America celebrated its 50^th birthday this year which was a great occasion for CFDA president Diane Von Furstenburg to put some inspiring designs in the spotlight. The book also contains the history of CFDA and accompanied the exhibition that was put together as a celebration. 

Buy the book here

xoxo

Krazy K.