In February 2012, Topshop put a capsule collection by Greek-born, London-based designer Mary Katrantzou on its shop floors and website. The announcement had come in late 2011, and it sat alongside a second strand of the retailer’s work with designers: its long support of the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN scheme.
The two stories overlap. Katrantzou is a NEWGEN graduate, and Topshop’s designer collaborations of the period were one visible result of that talent pipeline.
The Katrantzou collection
News of the collaboration circulated from late October 2011. Reports at the time said it would reach shops in February 2012, and that a tulip-shaped dress would retail for £350. Accounts differ on the size of the range: early reports mentioned 10 pieces, one outlet said 14, and Time Out’s New York guide later described nine.
The collection was the second time the two had worked together. Katrantzou’s earlier Topshop link was noted by commentators when the new one was announced, and they pointed to her Autumn/Winter 2011 collection, inspired by Chinese porcelain and objects that decorate luxurious homes.
Her signature is the large, collage-like print. When the range reached Topshop’s Broadway store in New York, Time Out picked out floral-printed leggings at $80, sleeveless blouses at $160 and tunic dresses at $310, calling them wearable spring bouquets. Commentators also welcomed the fact that the designs looked close to her runway work rather than a watered-down version.
The Topshop range came in the same month as another Katrantzou project, a capsule of bags and totes with Longchamp.
What NEWGEN is
NEWGEN was set up by the British Fashion Council in 1993 to spot and support fledgling designers as they start their careers. Topshop was its sponsor. In February 2012, Marie Claire reported that the retailer was marking ten years of backing the scheme with a T-shirt collection designed by well-known alumni.
Those designers included Marios Schwab, Meadham Kirchhoff, Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou, Roksanda Ilincic and Peter Jensen. The T-shirts were sold from 17 to 21 February 2012, during London Fashion Week, in Topshop stores nationwide and online.
The next NEWGEN class
In June 2012, Topshop announced its latest group of NEWGEN designers. Racked reported that it would finance runway shows for three designers, with J.W. Anderson among them. Fashion School Daily also named Michael van der Ham and Simone Rocha among the recipients.
Presentations were funded for Christopher Raeburn, J.JS Lee, Lucas Nascimento, Marques Almeida, Nasir Mazhar and Sister by Sibling. Exhibition space costs were covered for Palmer//Harding, Huishan Zhang, Lim Cooper and Sophia Webster.
Racked listed Alexander McQueen, Jonathan Saunders, Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou as designers who had come through the programme. It added that J.W. Anderson had already signed on for his own high-street collaboration.
Where Katrantzou went next
Katrantzou’s career moved on from the Topshop capsule. In April 2014 she announced a continuing partnership with Adidas, covering clothing and footwear, and in October 2014 Vogue unveiled the Adidas Originals collaboration. It drew on track shoes worn by medallists in the 1970s and 1980s and used neoprene and printed mesh.
Both the 2012 capsule and the NEWGEN support belonged to the same period, when high-street retailers were using partnerships with young designers to bring runway ideas to a wider audience.