Mary Katrantzou: My designs are classic

Mary Katrantzou says her flamboyant designs are still “classic”.

The designer is famous for her colourful graphic prints but insists it is the shapes that makes her garments wearable.

The fashion creative wouldn’t use patterns that look awkward when worn as she wants her clothes to flatter female physiques.

“I’ve been asked many times about my prints and whether they’re difficult – I always say, the silhouette they’re [based] on is classic and embraces a woman’s figure, to make her feel comfortable and be flattering; I’m critical of print that doesn’t do that,” Mary told the UK edition of InStyle magazine.

But although some may consider prints difficult to pull off, the designer’s costumers range widely in age and style.

Mary is often surprised by the type of women who buy her creations and how they use them.

“[My customers range] from young girls to women in their 60s. To my surprise, a lot of women who dress monochromatically or who always wear black, buy the dresses – they just appreciate the design. One woman bought my lampshade skirt because she wanted to use it literally as a lampshade in her house! So you never know – it’s a broad audience,” she said.

The Greece-born fashion star also revealed who she would like to dress the most.

With a fan-following including Keira Knightley and Claudia Schiffer, Mary is happiest when she convinces a print-shy customer how good they look in her designs.

“It’s really a challenge. It’s getting them [the customer] outside their comfort zone, if they feel that they’re wearing something flattering and are feeling good about it, then we’ve achieved a small success. It gives me a lot of joy,” she said.