By CASEY NEILL
A DANDENONG North designer will showcase his first collection at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW).
Harry Katakouzinos, 21, is among seven Kangan Institute Advanced Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology students selected for MSFW: Emerging.
The student runway is on Sunday 1 September and will feature works from young designers across the state.
“I’m extremely happy and extremely excited,” Harry said.
“I didn’t believe it at first. I got told during school holidays. It just seemed so weird.”
It will be the first time any of his pieces have appeared on a runway and he’ll be working on his collection right up until show day “to make sure it’s 110 per cent perfect”.
His inspiration is “faceted … like the inside of a crystal” so his pieces feature a lot of hand-embroidery and sharp angles.
He takes inspiration from Sass and Bide said his creations shared the designer’s edgy and quirky feel and could move from casual to formal and vice versa.
Harry’s been working on it for a year now and the finished collection will include about eight garments.
“I’m just happy that it’s happening to me,” he said.
“Hopefully somebody can like my stuff.
“Even if just one random person wants me to make something for them I’ll be happy with that.”
He’s thrilled to have an experience like this to include on his resume and hopes it will open doors to internships with designers here in Australia or in Europe or America.
“I’ve always been into fashion and wanted to create my own style,” he said.
He names Dolce and Gabbana, Balmain and Christian Louboutin among his favourite designers.
“Dolce and Gabbana’s pieces are very sexy but they make it look so classy at the same time,” he said.
“Balmain’s couture work is perfect, it’s the best I’ve ever seen.”
Christian Louboutin makes his favourite shoes.
“He’s who I want to work with,” he said.
And Harry’s doing as much as he can to make that dream come true.
“My collection’s looking really good, I’m very happy with it,” he said.
