Mary Katrantzou: The death of the digital print

All photos are from style.com

Trends come and go, sometimes without us even noticing it. Last season, pioneers of the digital print such as Christopher Kane, veered away from the style that catapulted him to fame, in favour of change. His digital prints were replaced by intricately embroidered handiwork, that resembled print from afar and bewitched on closer inspection. While at big name trendsetting labels, like Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld cut up tiny pieces of coloured fur and stitched them together to create the illusion of geometric prints.
However the final nail in the coffin was Mary Katrantzou's Fall 2014 collection. A reputation built on digital imagery, there was not a print in sight. But who is Katrantzou without the print? Apparently an even better designer!
This has to be one of my favourite collections of hers. The prints were gone, but the exquisite and spellbinding aesthetic value of the clothes was as powerful as ever. Kaleidoscopic embroidered gowns played tricks on the eyes, a spectacular day dream, her surrealist graduate prints but a distant memory.
What does this mean for the future of fashion? In short, this is designers giving the finger to fast fashion. Gone are the heavy, yet easily printed graphic deigns, so often modified and reproduced by high street labels. It is a return to the handmade and an appreciation for the handiwork of talented artisans.
There is a need to get interactive with clothing again. There seems to be an new found emphasis on the tactile. Soft furs and supple leathers caress the fingertips while pleated silks and chiffons delicately stroke bare legs.
With such work comes an investment of time and talent and therefore a higher price tag for consumers. But perhaps it is also a call for the acknowledgement of hard work and quality. The aim is to reignite the passion that once existed for those love at first sight pieces. Not just an investment, but a piece that you truly love and will treasure for seasons to come.

I say farewell to the digital print and good riddance to fast fashion!

Love Dani xx