The practical consideration of Pre-Fall is that the clothes are going to linger longer in stores than any other season of the year. But how to anticipate shelf life? It s almost an invitation to play it safe. Consuelo Castiglioni opted for elegant elongation, a longer silhouette than usual for Marni and cinched for emphasis. And she showed a fluid bell-bottom trouser style, also new for the label. It dovetailed with the 70s redux theme that s rattling around fashion yet again. So far, so straightforward.
But Marni is usually about color and texture, and, to a surprising and reassuring degree, Castiglioni let herself go with drifts of alpaca, intarsia-ed into a gilet and a jacket, and the fairy-tale fuzz of a sheepskin skirt that was attached to a fitted suede bolero. The prints that are a house signature were dark but no less graphic than usual. The interplay of feminine and masculine elements was subtle but forceful: from the simplicity of a shirt cuff on a windowpane shift and shirttails on a plain navy tunic to the complex mixed message of a dress adorned with heavy paillettes in sturdy khaki melton topped by an elongated version of something that in another life would have been a quilted hunting vest.
The jewelry was, as usual, absolutely spectacular, with earrings and brooches in spherical, sculpted 70s shapes that mimicked the geometries of the prints.
