Work of 'Print Princess' on show to mark Imma's 20th birthday

Exhibition of 20 up-and-coming Irish artists also among festivities

“THE ART of Fashion”, a specially curated exhibition of the work of the London-based Greek designer Mary Katrantzou, took place last night in the Baroque Chapel as part of the 20th birthday celebrations of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma) .

It was the first fashion exhibition at the museum in Kilmainham and the first retrospective of the work of the 28-year-old designer known as the “Print Princess”, famous for her “lampshade” skirts and vibrant, trompe l’oeil digital prints.

"It's great to see my garments in such an amazing place and out of their usual context", she told The Irish Times. "People can get a different perspective than from a department store and maybe get excited about the new season as well."

Twenty of her creations with their bold graphic and pictorial prints were displayed on mannequins in the chapel, including a preview of her autumn 2011 collection.

The exhibition will transfer to the windows of Brown Thomas from next Monday for two weeks.

Born in Athens, the daughter of an interior designer and an engineer, Katrantzou originally intended to study law or archaeology, but a love of colour led her to St Martins in London where she graduated first in textiles and then in fashion design in 2008.

Her first collection debuted in 2009 to widespread acclaim and her star has risen ever since. She now employs 10 people, has a burgeoning business, stockists all over the world and fans such as Claudia Schiffer and Yasmin Le Bon.

Her themes have ranged from the perfume bottle collection of 2009, to Fabergé eggs, Meissen china and l8th century interiors. “I like to take from design and turn it on its head,” says the bubbly Katrantzou, dressed entirely in black. “I was looking at perfume bottles and thought why not put the perfume on the woman? It was a cross between demi-couture and a novelty tongue-in-cheek attitude, but with a construction done by hand, with wire moulded to the body, bonded, fused and with a crinoline underneath, so it was not just a common skirt.”

The highlight of yesterday’s festivities was “Twenty”, an exhibition of the work of 20 up and coming Irish artists, many of whom live abroad.

Drawn from Imma’s collection, the works include installations, photography, painting and sculpture.

Other events included short talks by some of the artists, visits to residents' studios as well as a performance called the Ginger Light, by poet and novelist Jeremy Reed and musician Gerry McNee, blurring the boundaries between the spoken word, music, sound and song.

“Twenty” will continue until October 31st.