marni

In 2021, as we reach nearly a year spent social distancing, is there anything more novel than the notion of being invited into someone’s home for a languorous meal? I know I’m not alone when I say I deeply miss the silly, sloppy dinners in which I once partook with friends. Which is why when Marni creative director Francesco Risso captioned three Instagram photos this morning “My door is open, the table is set,” I—and surely many other of the Italian house’s 1.5 million followers—perked up. The intimate gatherings, held in his Milan apartment, were a celebration of the brand’s Fall 2021 collection, which was served via a Wu Tsang-directed video, broadcast on Zoom three times throughout the day.

As for what was on the menu? The new season’s fantastical sartorial creations, which appeared on those who were lucky enough to attend the visual feasts IRL (model Paloma Elsesser, singer Zsela, artist Mykki Blanco, among others). “This Marni collection took shape as a romantic ode to dressmaking at its most tactile and intimate,” Risso wrote in the show’s notes. “Today, Romanticism feels more powerful than any form of protest: a way to delve into reality with another gaze and another touch, finding another meaning to the everyday.” 

In keeping with Risso’s eccentric, exuberant vision, such love letters took form as bold colors and shapes, which were achieved through volume, darts, construction and deconstruction, zippers, and ruffles—make that lots of ruffles. Corsets abounded, hoodies became opera cloaks, trench coats were rounded to extremes, and biker jackets were spliced into blankets. There were also trippy hand-dyed trousers and frocks; crochet knit sets; object trouvé jewelry, developed in collaboration with Tom Binns; and a whole slew of It bags, some of which took on fun house-like proportions, as did puffed stoles. Just about every look was paired with a pointy-toed (sometimes heeled) spin on classic Converse sneakers. It’s only a matter of time until cool kids around the globe sport the kicks to gatherings of their own. Until then though, they’ll likely continue RSVPing to Risso’s virtual hangs with great pleasure.

marni

Below, see all of the looks from Marni Fall 2021.

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