A black tulle tutu spliced with a punchy red floral; a slouchy suit jacket crafted from two contrasting fabrics; a striped knit re-imagined as a crop top. Marni’s spring/summer 2021 offering was about pulling apart preloved pieces and putting them back together.
It’s not hard to hypothesise on the narrative behind the collection. With Marni based in Milan, which experienced one of the longest and most restrictive coronavirus lockdowns, the team found themselves looking to curtains and blankets inside their homes for creative fuel.
As such, the collection — which was shot on friends of the brand across the world (actors, artists, musicians) and livestreamed in an event titled ‘Marnifesto’ — is an ode to upcycling. Twenty-five coats were crafted using archival Marni pieces and fabrics, and the result is exactly the kind of contemporary-cool we’ve come to expect from the house.
“Clothing is accidental, and yet accidents always happen for a reason,” creative director Francesco Risso told reporters. “This one, most of all, is about not getting back to normal. It is about discovering fragility as strength and emotions as a connection, celebrating the dissonances that make a symphony.”
