LONDON – Following a runway show at the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou spoke with Architectural Digest’s channel AD Pro about her latest project, a rug collection featuring patterns from her own design archive. Her collection for the Rug Company is now available.

Of the patterns used, Katrantzou told AD Pro, “We’ve done countless prints in my 11 years in fashion. But I think it’s really different when you think about what will look beautiful in a home as opposed to on a female body. A lot of our fabrics are engineered to be flattering. One collection we did on nostalgia, that featured paint by numbers, was graphic, and translated really well.”

She also told AD Pro that nostalgia “is always part of my narrative, and something I’m continuously trying to translate into prints. It is a very Greek concept, and also I think something that’s really fitting in people’s homes.”

When asked if she will use the rugs in her own home, Katrantzou told AD Pro, “That’s probably a conversation I need to have with the Rug Company, about how many they can produce and how fast [laughs]… I know, though, that I will definitely take the pink sun ray and at least one of the florals.”

Born in Athens to an interior designer mother and father in textile design, Katrantzou, now based in London, seemed destined for a career in design. She studied architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design and then transferred to London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design for her BA in textile design and her fashion MA. She then turned her focus on prints and womenswear. Having sold prints to designer Bill Blass while still studying fashion, Katrantzou managed to build her portfolio and by the time she graduated, she had created her signature style. Her designs are available in over 200 stores worldwide including US retailers Barneys and Neiman Marcus. Her collection available at Topshop sold out within days in 2011. In 2014, she began a collaboration with Adidas on clothing and footwear. With a focus on the way prints can alter the shape of a woman’s body, Katrantzou’s designs regularly appear on the red carpet. Among the famous women who have donned her designs, First Lady Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, and Alicia Vikander who picked up her Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a dress from the Mary Katrantzou Spring Summer 2016 collection.

More information about Mary Katrantzou and her designs is available online: marykatrantzou.com and on the Rug Company website: https://www.therugcompany.com/us/designers/mary-katrantzou/.