Mood board: The work that Francesco Risso is doing for Marni feels like a mirror of the times. Its tribal eccentricity chimes with the current mood for a more fluid, polyglot, personal style. In London this spirit is there in the artisanal ambisexuality of Charles Jeffery. The sex of Mowalola Ogunlesi. The modish trompe-l’œil of Stefan Cooke and the unfurled masculinity of Per Götesson. In Milan, the arrival of Risso’s off-beat approach stands out. Away from the formal sartorial codes and well-crafted, purposeful proportions, Marni is a force of fresh, wild abandon. For the coming season, the designer explored the youth of today – the pluralities of their lives, lived through multiple apps and across many cities. This translated into a host of playfully nutty clothes.
Best in show: Allegro Non Troppo – Bruno Bozzetto’s 1976 animated parody of Walt Disney’s Fantasia – influenced the clashing sensuality and energy of the season. Colourful, dreamy frames from the film were magnified and printed across the front of wide-collar shirts and crushed silk pyjama tops. Patchwork prints, nubby bouclé coats and moleskin jackets and trousers had bold proportions; they were classic in their relative conservatism.
Finishing touches: Mohair striped sweaters worn as twin-sets, pastel puffa jackets with zip-up sides, misaligned pinstripes, synthetic reptile patterns. Baggy pony skin pants. Foamy neoprene suits. Banana sock boots! Padlocks, mitten flasks and chains. This line taken from the poem presented to showgoers summed up Risso’s foresight: ‘A tangle of neurons, antiphons, emotions/They protest for everything and wear notions./One becomes the other, the other becomes one, nobody is ever alone under the sun.’ It was a carnival of contemporary chic. §
