Mary Katrantzou- London Fashion Week AW'11

Mary Katrantzou's beautifully crafted and intricately embellished collection made a big impact in London yesterday. Her opulent prints made the models look like fragile Imperial Chinese vases or carved Russian dolls. The bell shaped skirts gave the garments structure and form, creating a modern silhouette with vintage prints, while the bodiced dresses gave a sophisticated simplicity. The real achievement of this collection, however were the prints and patterns, which far from looking heavy or old-fashioned, looked fresh, summery and well balanced. Images: www.elle.co.uk

There is a real resemblance to Chinese patterns in pottery and also traditional dress. There was a recent exhibition at the V&A, titled, Imperial Chinese Robes, which will be finishing on the 27th February. Emperors wore official dress for rituals, which had a special colour symbology, for example, blue was for the Altar of Heaven, yellow for the Altar of the Earth, red for Altar of the Sun and pale blue for the Altar of the Moon. See http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/imperial-chinese-robes/

                                                    Photos:http://insideout.topshop.com/