Designer Mary Katrantzou has collaborated with Adidas Originals on a new ’80s-inspired capsule collection. The location for the launch party was, of course, London, where a host of celebrities turned out to support the designer’s joint effort with the famous sports brand.
“I’m an Eighties baby, and it was amazing to just go back and look at all of these aerobics classes and the Seoul Olympics and just take symbols from that,” said Katrantzou at the launch. “We started thinking about symbolism and how we can take that within the context of Adidas. But also the silhouettes — there are little tennis dresses and diving suits and track tops so I thought that was a fun spin on the idea of symbols.” The 24-piece collection takes its inspiration from a wide variety of sports paraphernalia, with Katrantzou using collages of items such as a stopwatch, a tennis racket and a badminton shuttlecock for the motifs to her designs. The items range from a structured T-shirt of patches and crystals, a reversible varsity jacket, a crepe tank dress, leggings, tracksuit bottoms, boyfriend tees, shorts, jersey swimsuits and footwear, with all items available in Adidas stores, on the website and here.
The launch party was held at on the rooftop of SNAP Studios in East London—and there was certainly a lot to celebrate given that this is Katrantzou’s second collaboration with Adidas. Not bad for a relatively young designer with a label that’s barely six years old. The set was designed by Robert Storey with totem poles made by Katrantzou and prints of the designer’s 80s inspirations adorning the space. Guests included Rudimental’s Becky Hill, as well as models Laura James, Neelum Gill, Leomie Anderson and Arlissa. Originally hailing from Greece, Katrantzou is set to make a return there this summer. “It’s — you know — a difficult time over there, and I haven’t seen my parents for a while and it’s always lovely to go back in summer,” she said. “So I hope thinks will be a little bit more settled by then.” And this is certainly a busy time for the designer: “A lot is changing also within the company,” she says. “We’re bringing in senior management, diversifying into accessories and just building a brand that can allow for a much wider product.”
