neo mode: Mary Katrantzou (... I heart you)

Speaking of gorgeous statement jewelry, I thought I'd share some samples from Greek designer Mary Karantzou's first collection made for Fall 2008 while graduating at Central St. Martin's. There are so many things I love about Katrantzou's work: her predilection towards bold, bright colors, geometric shapes and patterns, and of course its all about those prints, prints, prints! Her prints are perfectly drafted to caress every curve of the body. The technical prowess to achieve such mastery is simply astounding.

She is steadfast in her aesthetic, which affords all fashionstas the ability to immediately identify a Karantzou from the rest of the pack. Her love of shift dresses and peplums combined with her fantastic prints and elementary color sense creates a perfect marriage of contrast between minimalism and kitsch. If you took away the prints, I feel her work would resemble Calvin Klein or Gianfranco Ferre. If you took away the silhouettes, I'm left to compare her work to Versace, Pucci or Jean Charles de Castlebajac.

In her first collection, Karantzou utilized in her prints trompe l'oeil variations of massive statement necklaces. What's not to love?