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Mary Katrantzou may be Bvlgari’s first-ever Creative Director of Leather Goods and Accessories, but her relationship with the iconic Italian label began in 2019, when they collaborated on a very special fashion show with her namesake label. Here, as part
of our Women Who Win series, the designer tells Penny Goldstone why finding the
confidence to silence self-doubt has shaped her success
“The brand was born with the intention of
serving women like me; a woman for whom looking good means looking like herself, as opposed to
trying to please someone else”
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Talk us through your career – from launching your own label to joining Bvlgari…
On irreverence, risk and achieving cult status
Gaëlle
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I originally studied engineering and worked in that industry for three years, so I launched my business later on in life. At 26, I left my job in France and came to London to study jewellery design. That was almost 10 years ago. I basically used my studies to start working on my business plan. Every time I had a school project, I would design pieces that would be part of my future collection. But I didn’t have a lot of experience in business; I had no idea what a small business was, how to hire, or how to be a manager. I had no connections whatsoever in London – nor in fashion or design.
Take me back to the beginning of your business.
Photographer: Keetja Allard
“I actually started in architecture, but took an exchange program between RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) and Central Saint Martins to do a three-month course in textile design, in London. Afterwards, Style.com and Browns showed interest in my graduate collection, but I didn’t have a way to produce it.
“Then I received the support of [the British Fashion Council’s] NEWGEN scheme and, instead of sending my CV out to fashion houses, I was setting up a small studio in Hackney. My first show was in 2009 at London Fashion Week and it all went from there. What helped me most was the timing: designers like Jonathan Saunders and Christopher Kane [were emerging] and London was a great place for new talent [to flourish]. I was picked up by big stores around the world, including Barneys in New York; I had great support from the press; and I won the Swiss Textiles Award and the British Fashion Award [for Emerging Talent].
“With a lot of risk (and a lot of naivety) I started building my own brand and it’s been independent till this day, which is something I always wanted. Then, about six years ago, I was approached by Bvlgari – a brand I’ve grown up with and long admired – to work on a collection called Serpenti Through the Eyes. Afterwards, we started discussing me taking on a Creative Director role for leather goods and accessories – something Bvlgari has never had. Over the years, we’ve both given time for that relationship to naturally evolve and to build trust in one another.”
“Quality. I was always such a perfectionist in my own work, but there was always a show; there was always something that you had to put out and so certain things you just never had the opportunity to perfect. But at Bvlgari the standard, in terms of the execution of each piece, is so high. To work for a brand where we can afford the same preciousness in our approach to bags as we do for our jewellery… I feel like I have found the perfect home.”
What is the one thing you would never compromise on when it comes to business?
“When I started I didn’t have the same confidence I have now. The incredible Louise Wilson (British professor and fashion designer), who channeled all my creativity into being who I am today, sent me this quote by Robert Hughes, and I still live by it: ‘The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize’.
“That took a very long time to sink in, but at some point it clicked and I started using self-doubt as an indicator for breaking new ground. I’m much more fearless and bold in my approach to design now. The biggest lesson is to not be fearful of doubt, but to embrace it.”
What has been your biggest challenge to date and what lessons did you learn from it?
“It’s just moments when you look back. Every time we achieved something within my own brand, I was always onto the next thing but, looking back now, there’s some milestones where you remember the way you felt. It’s a feeling of discovery that you never forget.
“I think back to those early moments where I felt something was shifting; we were creating something new or talking about something new – the excitement of it. I try to protect that as much as possible, and what’s beautiful about my role at Bvlgari is that everything is new for me again. The biggest inspiration and the biggest fuel in your creativity is to feel that you’re learning.”
How do you celebrate success?
“The show at the top of Poseidon in Greece. To fly international press, accommodate them, and do a collection specifically inspired by ideas that were birthed at the time the temple was built, all in less than two months, was a big risk because we didn’t have the funding. We ended up raising the money ourselves, but if the project hadn’t worked, my company would have been at risk.”
What is the bravest thing you've ever done?
“I failed miserably at that for many years, until I reached the point where my husband and I decided to reshuffle the cards a little bit. At the beginning of my career, my focus had to be so razor-sharp that anything else was out the window. I’ve been with my partner for 23 years and my attention was split between building my career and my relationship, so anything else – like a social life – became secondary. Now, I feel I’m at a very different place: we moved back to Greece and I gave birth to our son three years ago, so that changed everything. The balance is much healthier now and I feel the most creative I’ve ever been. But it’s still difficult – I travel a lot and I’m in Florence every other week for Bvlgari.”
How do you achieve the perfect work-life balance?
“Saying yes when I should have said no. There was a time in my life when I was overcommitted professionally and personally, and the cost to my mental and physical health was tremendous. I now know to protect my time with vigour.”
What is the biggest mistake you’ve made?
“Growing up, I was taught that getting married was the most important ‘achievement’ for girls in the first 20-30 years of their life. This imposes unnecessary pressure that [can] result in bad and rushed decisions for many women. I wish we could learn that developing our best selves is more important, then finding a spouse will be a more natural, successful process.”
What would you want to change for women?
“Closing a $300m (£232m) fundraising round was a hugely validating moment – for me as a founder, for my work over more than a decade, and for the industry I had worked to establish for creators like me.”
What has been your proudest moment?
“I do, it’s a bag called ‘Serpenti Cuore 1968’. It was conceived to celebrate the year of the snake, and is based on the first bag I ever designed for Bvlgari. Instead of the Serpenti being the clasp, as it has always been, we turned it into a handle; we [wanted to] bring that back for the year of the snake and to celebrate my new appointment. [During the design process] I realised that the shape of the handle’s silhouette is also a half heart – probably the most universally-resonant symbol there is.”
Do you have a favourite piece in the current collection?
“This is a tough question, especially today. We’ve come a long way, but we still have to prove ourselves so much more than men. I just hope Frankie can play a role in helping women feel good, but also irreverent somehow. So I would say, if I were to change anything, it would be the pressure women feel to constantly fit into expectations.”“I try to be at peace with the decisions I’ve made. I’ve rushed decisions in the past, about how you grow a company and how to manage very rapid growth. I don’t think there’s one mistake that stands out, but we didn’t have an understanding of the risks involved. Myself and other designers coming out of London at the same time went into it without a background [in business]; we became entrepreneurs by default and that’s a hard place to be. I was lucky in the end. Thankfully, I trusted my instinct and had the right support from the people around me.”
What is the biggest mistake you've made?
“I don’t even think it’s about women. I think it’s about designers who, when they have something important to say, have the confidence to do it through their own path, with their own brand; to not feel like they have to work for a luxury fashion house from the beginning. It’s important to stand behind your own work and to beat to the sound of your own drum.”
What would you want to change for women in the industry?
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Serpenti Cuore 1968 Top Handle
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“I’m always trying to think about the customer – how can I bring something interesting and relevant to their wardrobe?”
What would you never compromise on when it comes to business?
“I’m always trying to think about the customer – how can I bring something interesting and relevant to their wardrobe?”“I guess the challenge in fashion is growing your company without compromising or diluting your products. Ideally, you should stay niche while maintaining global relevance. I’m trying to learn how to let things take time – meaning, be patient because things don’t happen overnight! Honestly, when I started, I just wanted to enjoy running a small store. I even hesitated launching a website because I knew how much work it would take to maintain.
“In the beginning, the biggest challenge was doing everything with a small team, but I truly believe it’s important to be hands-on to understand what your business really needs. I’m always amazed by startups that raise funding and launch with teams of 20 or 30 people – it’s just a completely different approach. Fashion, in the end, is deeply personal and human. It’s not just about numbers.”
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
“Of course, I’m very grateful for the successes we have achieved, and yes, we can celebrate these milestones. But I’m always cautious – I never believe I have ‘arrived’. To me, one day you’re in and the next you could be out. You can’t rest on your laurels.”
How do you celebrate success?
“My mum always used to say that hard work pays off. No matter what you do, if you work hard you will succeed, it will be useful in one way or another. But I would say take risks – don’t think about failure, just give it a shot. At the very least you’ll wake up knowing you tried.”
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
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Drevet
Mary
Katrantzou
on finding balance and bagging
a new role at Bvlgari
Photographer: Sara Reverberi
“What helped me most was the timing: designers like Jonathan Saunders and Christopher Kane [were emerging] and
London was a great place for new talent”
“To work for a brand where we can afford the same preciousness in our approach to bags as we do for our jewellery… I feel like I have found the perfect home”
“It sounds cliché, but to really know yourself and stay true to yourself. It goes such a long way when you realise who you are as a person. If you decode how things have happened in your life and you understand there’s a pattern, you can navigate your life differently. I wish I felt the way I feel now when I was in my twenties, but, sadly, we need to go through life to develop that confidence and that wisdom.”
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Being able to put out something in the world that was different, and standing by it. When I first started, digital printing was considered very taboo; it was considered very sterile – you wouldn’t see a pattern on the red carpet. It was a time of minimalism. Standing by it goes back to what we said before: having the confidence to stay true to who you are and develop a path or carve a path that is entirely your own.
“I am proud that my work is considered distinctive and unique. Now, Bvlgari is [offering me another] huge opportunity to do something different.”
What has been your proudest moment so far?
“I wish I felt the way I feel now when
I was in my twenties, but, sadly, we need to go through life to develop that confidence and that wisdom”
“I’m always very positive and solutions-driven, so something I’ve learned is that the word ‘no’ is just the beginning of ‘yes’. It’s so important to be resilient at work, in life, everywhere.”
What is your mantra?
“I’ve started building an archive of fashion pieces, but I think anything I own from [Vivienne] Westwood and Alaïa. The way they created and worked around the female figure is so inspiring to dissect and understand to this day.
“There’s also a piece that was part of my Central Saint Martins’ show that’s treasured because, at that stage, I didn’t even know I wanted to be a fashion designer.”
What is your most treasured fashion item?
“I actually started in architecture, but took an exchange program between RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) and Central Saint Martins to do a three-month course in textile design, in London. Afterwards, Style.com and Browns showed interest in my graduate collection, but I didn’t have a way to produce it.
“Then I received the support of [the British Fashion Council’s] NEWGEN scheme and, instead of sending my CV out to fashion houses, I was setting up a small studio in Hackney. My first show was in 2009 at London Fashion Week and it all went from there. What helped me most was the timing: designers like Jonathan Saunders and Christopher Kane [were emerging] and London was a great place for new talent [to flourish]. I was picked up by big stores around the world, including Barneys in New York; I had great support from the press; and I won the Swiss Textiles Award and the British Fashion Award [for Emerging Talent].
“With a lot of risk (and a lot of naivety) I started building my own brand and it’s been independent till this day, which is something I always wanted. Then, about six years ago, I was approached by Bvlgari – a brand I’ve grown up with and long admired – to work on a collection called Serpenti Through the Eyes. Afterwards, we started discussing me taking on a Creative Director role for leather goods and accessories – something Bvlgari has never had. Over the years, we’ve both given time for that relationship to naturally evolve and to build trust in one another.”
Talk us through your career – from launching your own label to joining Bvlgari…
“What helped me most was the timing: designers like Jonathan Saunders and Christopher Kane
[were emerging] and London was a great place for new talent”
“I failed miserably at that for many years, until I reached the point where my husband and I decided to reshuffle the cards a little bit. At the beginning of my career, my focus had to be so razor-sharp that anything else was out the window. I’ve been with my partner for 23 years and my attention was split between building my career and my relationship, so anything else – like a social life – became secondary. Now, I feel I’m at a very different place: we moved back to Greece and I gave birth to our son three years ago, so that changed everything. The balance is much healthier now and I feel the most creative I’ve ever been. But it’s still difficult – I travel a lot and I’m in Florence every other week for Bvlgari.”
How do you achieve the perfect work-life balance?
“It sounds cliché, but to really know yourself and stay true to yourself. It goes such a long way when you realise who you are as a person. If you decode how things have happened in your life and you understand there’s a pattern, you can navigate your life differently. I wish I felt the way I feel now when I was in my twenties, but, sadly, we need to go through life to develop that confidence and that wisdom.”
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“To work for a brand where we can afford the same preciousness in our approach to bags as we do for our jewellery… I feel like I have found the perfect home”
“I failed miserably at that for many years, until I reached the point where my husband and I decided to reshuffle the cards a little bit. At the beginning of my career, my focus had to be so razor-sharp that anything else was out the window. I’ve been with my partner for 23 years and my attention was split between building my career and my relationship, so anything else – like a social life – became secondary. Now, I feel I’m at a very different place: we moved back to Greece and I gave birth to our son three years ago, so that changed everything. The balance is much healthier now and I feel the most creative I’ve ever been. But it’s still difficult – I travel a lot and I’m in Florence every other week for Bvlgari.”
How do you achieve the perfect work-life balance?
“I’m always very positive and solutions-driven, so something I’ve learned is that the word ‘no’ is just the beginning of ‘yes’. It’s so important to be resilient at work, in life, everywhere.”
What is your mantra?