Mary Katrantzou s/s 2014
With its blown-up prints of Lesage embroideries, reembroidered with a constellation of beads, ribbons, feathers, and crystals. “It was this labor-intensive process, with some pieces going back and forth between my studio in London and the Lesage workshops,” confided Mary, who three years ago was approached by the house of Lesage, then looking for a young designer to experiment with on new ideas.
For her first collaboration, she had the storied Parisian embroiderer embellish her gowns with hundreds of yellow pencils complete with pink erasers. “This time around I was interested in embroideries made specifically for shoes. At Lesage’s new headquarters we were shown into the archives, where we got to look through boxes of embroideries that had been created for various couture houses over the decades,” recalled the designer, who has long championed craft throughout her career.
“It’s been a privilege to work with Lesage, which has a long history in couture know-how. It is an incredible experience to visit the workrooms and watch the embroiderers working on these pieces,” said Mary, who graciously shared a collection of images she’d taken, documenting Lesage’s expert hands at work on her Spring collection.
-Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz
