Scene setting: Francesco Risso in his second season at Marni delivered a joyful, modern coolness in the middle of a scorching Milan – one of the highlights so far. Guests sat on rows of neat wooden benches with chequer-board leather seats, nestled on-top of clear inflatable pillows. The show was soundtracked with renditions of Eden Ahbez’s gentle Nature Boy by David Bowie and John Coltrane, mixed by Frédéric Sanchez Studio.
 
Mood board: The cardboard invitation included a small toy, while the show notes talked of a ‘well to do boy’ falling into a never ending vacation. Each of the models carried mismatched luggage, tied with loose bits of string or odd ties. The look of misaligned pinstripes, shrunken, unfinished knits and 1920s Maillots de bain t-shirts was random and refined, eclectic and exacting.
 
Team work: The LA artist Magdalena Suarez drew a series of shirts and bibs for S/S 2018. Though better known for her ceramic collaborations with her husband Michael Frimkess, Suarez’s sketches of faces and wild animals lent a charming narrative to the playful proportions of Risso’s clothes. From traditional ancient Greco-Roman frescos to Felix the Cat, the Venezuelan-born octogenarian has no set rules for what she chooses to illustrate on her own work. She’s not hung up on one thing, just like the Marni man.

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