Realising the over-saturation amongst young designers in the industry and moving away from the traditional schedule, Mary has decided to create a more lifestyle focused genderless collection, consisting of a carefully considered range of streetwear in her signature prints.
Inspired by delicate Japanese kimonos, healing crystals, Egyptian Goddesses, stained glass art and Mary’s own illustrative archive, the debut collection includes; 6 tracksuits, 4 t-shirts, 2 sweatshirts and 2 hoodies, to be available from new site www.marybensonworld.com with custom vinyl versions being made to order and delivered within 2 weeks.
The campaign was shot by Lewis K. Smith and features Mary’s muse; British actress Sophia Brown who will star opposite Rachel Weisz in ‘Disobedience’ later this year and featured in the remake of ‘Beauty & the Beast’ and TV series' ‘Clique’ and ‘Guerilla.’
“The tracksuits originally started out as a menswear but I soon realised that there was no reason to choose between men’s and womenswear. We live in such an exciting and creative society, I can see such a wide variety of people wearing them in their own way and mixed and matched with other clothing. I wanted the campaign to feature male and female models, but as soon as I saw Sophia I knew she was exactly the person I wanted in the campaign – her androgynous look was perfect and really encapsulates what the collection is about. In my time away from the industry, I have realised that there isn’t a set way to do things when it comes to designing and creating a collection. The traditional seasonal drops weren’t working for the me and I wanted to create something fun, so I decided to work on my own e-commerce site which over the coming months I plan to grow into more of a lifestyle brand” - Mary Benson
Items are available in two price tiers – screen printed or vinyl printed:
Short sleeve tee in white or black - £65 / £85
Long sleeve tee in white or black - £70 / £90
Printed sweatshirt in white or black - £100 / £120
Printed hoodie in white or black - £110 / £130
Printed jacket in white or black - £260
Printed trousers in white or black - £220
The limited edition, made to order vinyl printed 100% silk jacket and trousers are available in pink, black, gold and grey colourways, priced at £680 for the jacket and £580 for the trousers.
