I viewed a luxurious collection comprised of soft silhouettes with exciting and intricate detailing resulting in gorgeous garments for the female form.
For you guys that don't know Katharine's past, she is best known for her costume pieces in various short films like The Young Victoria directed by Jean-marc vallee, 2009 and not forgetting a personal favourite of mine, Bright Star directed by Jane Campion featuring Ben Wishaw and Abbie Cornish.
Tell us about yourself
I am obsessed by details. Constantly inspired by my background in period costume and my training on Savile Row, I love traditional craftsmanship and the beauty of making things by hand.
Environmental issues are really important to me. I do not believe in flying ourselves or our clothes around the world unnecessarily, or damaging the planet for our own ends.
I have to be creative in most aspects of my life or I go insane! I hate routines and I'm annoyingly idealistic.
Tell us about the brand concept
The aim of the Katharine Harrison brand is to make handcraft more accessible by making it available within our Ready-to wear collections.
Our view is that much of the joy of making clothing has been lost in the process of modern manufacturing habits adopted by the fashion industry. By putting the spotlight on the 'maker', we hope to regain some of the respect lost for the high level of skills involved in making beautiful clothes.
Through creating a classic clean contemporary look, we transcend the barriers of the seasonal collection by offering women a timeless, luxury product as part of our ready-to-wear collections.
What excites you as a designer ?
As a designer I am continually excited by the subtleties of cutting and drapery. Forming spaces around the body, skimming curves and creating angles. Obsessive about detailing and finishing. A garment completely comes into it's own element with the correct balance of finishing either by hand or by machine or just simply pressing the garment with skill and precision.
The simplicity of beautiful fabrics - the right juxtaposition of cottons v silks plays a major part in S/S12. I like to bring out the beauty of simple high quality fabrics, adding embellishment and texture where required.
Tell us about your ss12 collection
I am excited by fantasy and the concept of Eden, mythical gardens and faraway worlds. Surrealists have been a big inspiration - Elsa Schiaparelli has played a key role for me in SS12. Along with the constant humor and ridiculousness of humans trying to control nature in the form of palatial gardens.
I have also a constant reference to historical cutting and stitching technique in all my work, the early 17th Century has formed the basis of this, creating structure without restriction.
What can we expect from katharine harrison in the future ?
New contemporary shapes and styles with a feel of old-style under-stated glamor of years gone by. Expect more structure and experimentation, exuberance and passion.
We will also be expanding our range of lingerie, so watch out for new exciting styles!
We loved the organic fabrics and quality finishings used for every garment. Throughout the process of hand rendered production Katherine Harrison has filled a much needed gap in the lingerie sector bringing fresh, clean, luxurious and not forgetting sustainable and organic garments to the front line.