The Building Blocks of Fashion

Nothing entrances me more than untraditional fashion. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, the queens of all things untraditional, remain two of my biggest inspirations to this day. When fashion meets art, resulting in an explosion of color, texture, and/or intricate patterns, it simply takes my breath away. To be honest, I was speechless for quite a bit after seeing Mary Katrantzou's Spring 2011 collection.

"With this collection," she said, "I wanted to put the room on the woman, rather than the woman in the room." Without a doubt, Katrantzou's vision came alive on the runway showcasing her collection. The idea based behind the collection was to create architectural pieces in three dimensional art, making the pieces not only desirable, but a sort of story within an item as well. Style.com mentions two examples: one was a dress whose top half featured a swimming pool in an L.A. house above a view of the city from the balcony of that house. The other used a view of a dining room table as a skirt with a perspective of the room it stood in rising up the bodice.

It was not only these breath-taking pictures that made Katrantzou's collection come alive, but the fabrics she used, as well. Window frames were created, surrounded by bits of fluttering chiffon that stood for lifelike curtains. She even added lampshades with real, dangling crystals. Chandeliers and wall decor worn as oversized necklaces completed the look, along with shoes in dashing colors that brought out hues in Katrantzou's designs. The overall effect was just lovely; it captured the extraordinarily real look of an architectural masterpiece with all the every-day wearability of an item of clothing.

Mary Katrantzou shines a light on the way fashion should always be portayed: as an art. She brings back the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and something as simple as hard work and determination can create something reminiscent of magic. I will be anxiously awaiting Katrantzou's future collections, but until then, I'm sure her Spring 2011 collection will give me plenty to reflect on!