Combining cutting-edge techniques and a kaleidoscope of colour, the young designers behind three London-based labels are shaking up the industry with their use of digital prints. Amanda Clark meets the new frock royalty taking the fashion world by storm

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It’s early morning on a freezing February day in London. A bleary-eyed fashion crowd has assem-bled inside the Grand Hall of Old Billingsgate Market to watch designer Mary Katrantzou unveil her new autumn/winter 2012/13 collection. The

sun’s pallid rays filter down from the windows into the cavernous interior, where editors and buyers sit perched on a series of oversized steps, clutching cups of coffee and stifling yawns.

Suddenly a bright blast of light jolts the audience wide awake. A series of models file out, striding down the polished concrete runway. From a distance the ruffled, full-skirted dresses and peplum-waist gowns are striking for their sculptural silhouettes. However, this is not what has the view-ers entranced – instead, it is the florid patterns printed on each piece.

Like optical illusions, the mind-bending motifs are made up of images of pencils, telephones and clock dials that have been spun, shrunk or blown up, then moulded into colour-pop designs. It is a thrilling show and, as the lights go down, the normally aloof style set bursts into rapturous applause.

Young, cool and experimental, Mary Katrantzou is part of the new face of London fashion. Alongside labels Erdem and Peter Pilotto, she is bringing a fresh energy to the British style

capital, making London once more a home of emerging design talent.

“It feels like London has found its feet again after a tricky period. The last time I remember the city having this buzz was in the mid to late ’90s, when the likes of Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan and Antonio Berardi were the hottest tickets in the world,” remarks Belinda White, editor of

Fashion.telegraph.co.uk. “Each of these designers has their

own distinct signature. Plus, they all hit their stride right off the back of the minimalist movement lead by Phoebe Philo at Céline and Stella McCartney. They have been at the heart of this season’s return to maximalist print.”

What makes these three houses so exciting is that even though the designers are young and their labels not yet 10 years old, their impact on the fashion world has been seismic.

While Erdem, Peter Pilotto and Mary Katrantzou don’t have the

brand power of established luxury houses, such as Gucci or Louis Vuitton, the labels’ eye-catching patterns have become their unofficial logo. And the explosion of colour-saturated print on the high street is proof of the trio’s influence, with kaleidoscopic motifs appearing in stores everywhere – stamped on skirts, shirts, even bags and shoes.

Earlier this year, Katrantzou staked her

own claim in the mass market by collaborating on

a range with powerhouse retailer Topshop. “Some of our silhou-

ettes were already inspiring the high street, so it was important to

me to work on a collection that had the essence of our ready-to-wear

but at a more affordable price point,” explains the designer.

The nine-piece line caused a frenzy, with style bloggers fervently

counting down to the launch, and hysterical shoppers climbing over one another to reach the pieces at the instore unveiling.

It’s not just the high-street brands that love the labels’ look; high-profile buyers and style setters are also devo-

tees. “All of these designers are pushing the boundaries of print and taking it to a new level which is super sophisticated and effort-lessly modern. They offer a

combination of fashion and art,” com-ments Ruth Chapman, co-founder of luxury British retailer Matches.

Sasha Wilkins, founder of fashion blog LibertyLondonGirl.com, agrees: “I think women are bored with the idea of sterile, monochrome chic. Print is incredibly flattering – it adds interest and a point of difference. And these three designers make glorious dresses!”

Even influential US Vogue editor Anna Wintour is a fan. A few years ago, she would bypass London Fashion Week altogether. This season, she sat front row at Peter Pilotto, Erdem and Mary Katrantzou.

Leading the way in the rise of the London labels is Greek-born designer Mary Katrantzou. Starting her studies in architecture in 2003 at the prestig-ious Rhode Island School of Design in the US, she then transferred to London’s Central Saint Martins to complete her Bachelor of Arts in textile design, before shifting her focus to ready-to-wear for her Master’s degree.

“I was intrigued by how you can use print to enhance a female form and build a second skin for a woman.

Even though the labels are not yet 10 years old, their

impact has been seismic In collaborations with UK

chain Topshop, Mary Katrantzou (above,

flanked by models in her Topshop designs)

has staked her claim in the high street. Left

and far left: two more Topshop looks. Right:

her autumn/winter 2012/13 show drew rapturous acclaim.

The switch to fashion was a natural progres-sion,” she explains.

Katrantzou’s debut runway show at London Fashion Week in 2009 featured graphic motifs of perfume bottles splashed across minimalist silhouettes. Bold and self-assured, it launched the designer on a meteoric ascent to success.

“Not only does Mary cut her dresses beautifully so they fit and flatter the wearer, her prints are extremely clever and

Many of Katrantzou’s signature digital prints in her autumn/winter 2012/13 collection (all featured on this page) referenced the beauty in the mundane – from pencils, radios, hedges and telephones to typewriters and cutlery.

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above: Christopher De Vos (on left) and Peter Pilotto celebrate their spring/summer 2012 show. Right, top right and bottom right: their autumn/winter 2012/13 show was inspired by travels in asia.

stand up as works of art in their own right. This makes

her collections highly col-lectable,” says Chapman.

The fashion press have even crowned Katrantzou “the queen of prints” on account of her trompe l’oeil designs. Her

motifs have a hyperrealism – schools of fish swim across the skirts of dresses, and fields of neon flowers burst into bloom over chiffon tops.

In the past, Katrantzou has drawn inspiration from architecture, Fabergé

eggs and Ming vases. However, this season she focused on something entirely different: commonplace items.

“I wanted to discover the beauty in the everyday and turn it into occasion wear,” reveals the 28 year old. “Pencils, typewriters and bathtubs were the inspiration behind a collection that was about elevating these mundane items to highly decorative pieces.”

Katrantzou has also collaborated with haute French embroidery house Lesage, and working with the ultra-exclusive atelier is the fashion world’s gold stamp of approval. It is the first time Lesage, which usually only works with luxury labels, such as Chanel and Christian Dior, has teamed up with a London designer.

“It was an honour to work with a house that has such history. It allowed us to create pieces that would never have

been possible in the past,” concedes Katrantzou.

The designer’s prints leap to a startling three-dimensional reality in the hands of Lesage.

Virtual tufts of grass poke up between stones on a top featur-

ing an image of a garden path, and a dress printed with

a bathtub spills over with life-like pearlescent bubbles.Joining Mary Katrantzou in

the digital-print revolution are design duo Peter Pilotto, 34, and

Christopher De Vos, 31. First meeting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 2000, Pilotto and De Vos moved to London separately before joining forces on the Peter Pilotto label in 2007.

“Peter is focused on textile and print, whereas Christopher concen-

trates more on the silhouette and draping. However, as a duo, we work closely together to create some-thing new; the process is very organic,” comments the pair.

Drawing inspiration from nature, they digitally manipulate irises, carnations and jacquard into abstract forms that are then sculpted into precision-cut shifts. The result? Graphic, body-conscious

dresses that are a hit with the style set and young Hollywood (Kate Bosworth, Carey Mulligan and Miranda Kerr have all stepped out in the label).

“Their clothes express individuality – they allow celebrities to reflect their per-sonality and they’re far more adventurous than the tradi-tional LBD,” says Chapman.

Although they are known for their decorative shifts, “the perfect printed dress is our signature look”, maintains the duo – it is their innovative techniques and attention to detail that sets them apart. Each print is painstakingly developed for every individual piece.

Peter Pilotto designs have a two-fold visual effect. Glance at one of

their form-fitting dresses, and the first impression is of a vibrant motif. However if you look more closely, intricate layers of fabric, embroidery and embellish-ment come into play.

“We look at traditional tech-niques, such as hand-beading, but develop them with new technology to translate our 2D digital prints into a 3D land-scape fabric,” explains the pair.

Peter Pilotto isn’t the only London label that’s captured the atten-tion of fashion-forward A-listers. Designer Erdem Moralioglu’s ladylike dresses have been worn by everyone from first ladies to film stars.

“Erdem has achieved something really impressive. He’s loved by the diehard fashion crowd, celebrities and the Duchess of Cambridge and [the British prime minister’s wife] Samantha Cameron. No mean feat,” says White.

Born in Montreal, Canada, in 1977, to a Turkish father and British mother, Moralioglu moved to London to study at the Royal College of Art. Launching his label in 2005, just two years after graduating, he immediately won acclaim with his romantic designs.

“From the moment I saw Erdem’s work I knew he was in a special league,” recalls Caroline Burstein, creative director at London fashion mecca, Browns. “His sense of colour and print, so feminine but also strong, keep evolving each season.”

The 34-year-old designer’s impressionist florals could be almost saccharine sweet if it weren’t for his razor-sharp tailoring and the brood-ing undercurrent that runs through each of the collections. It is this mix of propriety and edge that makes his digital print pieces utterly appealing.

“Erdem cuts for a woman’s body. His clothes are always flattering, and his prints complex, but beautifully rendered. I have to ration how often I wear his dresses in public, otherwise I’d be in Erdem every time I was photo-graphed!” enthuses Sasha Wilkins.

The questions is – why London? Not one of the designers behind these labels was born in Britain, yet they have each chosen the UK capital as their base.

Aside from providing fertile

ground for inspiration, London has a history

of launching talented young designers, from

Alexander McQueen to Christopher Kane.

“What London has always done best is provide a breed-ing ground for exciting raw talent to grow. Many of the labels which bloom and flourish on the schedule would per-haps never get off the ground in a heavily commercialised capital like New York, or luxury-focused Paris,” claims White.

“Anything’s possible in London. You can take more risks when you’re starting out and that’s supported – encouraged, even. You can be the [child] of a taxi driver like McQueen, a plumber like Galliano, or a Beatle like Stella McCartney. Everyone mixes, everyone is equal and that blend of backgrounds, personalities and heritage is a kind of alchemy,” she adds.

What sets Mary Katrantzou, Peter Pilotto and Erdem apart from their pred-ecessors is that the brains behind these labels realise longevity in fashion isn’t based on creativity alone. “These design-ers are more grown-up, more polished and far more business savvy. They are creating innovative collections that are also commercial, which in turn has made the industry take notice,” says Chapman.

As White remarks: “It’s going to be fascinating to see what they do next.”

the first impression is of a vibrant motif. look more closely and embellishment comes into play

above: Erdem Moralioglu’s spring/summer 2012 show was unashamedly feminine. However, for autumn/winter

2012/13 (all left), his floral prints took on a much darker edge, as lace met latex.

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