Marni and the possibility of selling creativity

Often, in order to consolidate their artistic identity, brands look for a place in which to sink their roots. In the case of Francesco Risso's Marni, there is no need. Far from last year's New York, even more from last February's Tokyo, the Paris show further confirmed the brand's prominent position within the fashion system, in the calm of Karl Lagerfeld's former residence. The aspects that amazed the audience during the show were many, and had to do not only with the setting, a metropolitan paradise that between a strip of green lawn and the rooms of the palace created an intimate context in which the models' clothes could brush against the legs of those seated in the front row, but also with the objective stylistic variety and savoir faire of the maison. Every look at Marni's SS24 had a precise purpose, a happily ever after that blends dream and reality, making both the pop star appearing on the red carpet and the customer in St. Mark's Square happy; both the OTB godmother and the conceptual fashion fanatics feel satisfied. If in recent seasons we had despaired at the death of the fashion show as an artistic expression, Risso has made its resurrection possible.

On inflatable seats scattered around the garden of the hotel and its rooms, guests at yesterday's show were treated to an alternation of functional silhouettes and magic-laden looks. The first model wore nothing but a mermaid skirt in beige suede and an ash-blue knit tank top, the second a structured raincoat and a leather skirt, but then came boots with velvet kitten heels, colour-block striped suits - a fixed code in Marni's DNA - structured by organically curved crinolines, and mini-dresses covered patchwork floral illustrations. The first few seconds of the show prompted those present to notice the sartorial ability of the maison, between an A-line dress that was made wide through airy shapes and a bubblegum pink jacket with a clean, perfectly geometric cut, while a few moments later everyone appeared to be in complete awe at the complex bouquets of tin flowers taking to the catwalk on narrow black bodycon dresses. Of this collection one could appreciate every look, every colour combination and every stylistic construction thanks to a perfect balance of opposites.

Preppy chic elements were present in the colourful plaid, the office grey trench coats and the white shirt and ribbed knit combination, but there was also a strong gender fluid presence, displayed in the skimpy jumpsuits worn by the models and in the accessories, distributed without binary obligations. The sense of practicality of sky-blue shirts was distorted, while the imaginative spirit of a floral peel-and-stick game turned functional through a clean cut, evidently complex in their production but not unrecognisable by those not used to the child-like irony of Marni. In this SS24, Risso was able to play with the needle of the scales shrewdly, designing a clothing line that best represents the Yin and Yang that all brands need today: the great selling point of a pair of leather trousers, plastic and perfectly sculpted around the legs of the models, and the fantastic narrative of tin clothes that explore the limits of fantasy, between fairy tale and fable. The show offered just the right number of looks that we will be seeing appearing on the cover of major fashion magazines in the coming months, and garments that will turn customers' heads in the windows of the fashion house's flagship stores. Similarly, the casting full of fresh, young and tattooed faces produced an excellent contrast with the background of the fashion show, taking the clash between modern and historical to the extreme. Holding firm to his own identity, Francesco Risso brought to Paris a pure collection, honest in its commercial purpose but full of artistic surprises that take us back to the most famous quote from the Wizard of Oz: «A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you know how to make it love you,» and Marni's heart knows how to make you love it just fine.