First published with photography by T Magazine on 22 February 2016

Less than two weeks before London Fashion Week, Mary Katrantzou was feeling good. “I like the collection so far,” the designer said, referring to her fall/winter 2016 offering, which was presented yesterday — though she acknowledged that she was preparing for an emotional roller coaster. “Now you like it, because you’re excited because a lot of the ideas are going to launch. Then you get stressed before the show, because the ideas haven’t come back launched and ready, so you’re just a bit concerned. And then you feel sick, because you don’t know how it will all feel when it comes together.” She continued, laughing: “So at the moment, you’re coming in just before the storm. Everything’s good now, and in seven days it won’t be.”

Katrantzou and her team were working on two skirts — floor-sweeping, multilayered, dazzling skirts — that would be the twin showpieces of the collection. The plan was to create them in tulle; Katrantzou will also design ballet costumes for the Paris Opera this year, so her team has long been discussing how a tulle skirt could best be done, “and how you can create volume, in a way that feels modern.”

In recent seasons, Katrantzou’s collections have revolved around weighty ideas: cosmology for spring/summer 2016, kenophobia versus Modernism for fall/winter 2015, and Pangaea and Panthalassa for spring/summer 2015. In comparison, this season would almost be a palate cleanser — an intricate piece of pop art, that took inspiration from young love. “I guess I’m in the mood to do something that just feels very fun and upbeat and dynamic and energetic,” Katrantzou explained. “It’s about not thinking too much, and not intellectualizing everything.”

T visited her in the studio, and then backstage at her London Fashion Week show, to track the progress of these two skirts — from conception to runway. Click through the slideshow for their story.