On the last full day of Milan Fashion Week, designer Consuelo Castiglioni wowed a haggard and rain-soaked audience with a Marni collection that beautifully challenged the status quo in terms of proportions, color and pattern combinations for textural intrigue. She also gave a masterclass in modern embellishments.
Through her rounded shapes – the deflated balloon sleeves, the curving cut-away capes and skirts, and even the aerodynamic footwear and stirrup pants – she was able to convey a sense of modern femininity.
Not girly or particularly romantic, just womanly, these are clothes created for women who are fully self-aware. They are no longer looking for outward approval; the only person the woman wearing these pieces wants to please is herself. If she wants to wear a high-waisted pair of pants with a super wide belt or a cocooning top embellished with colorful big round plastic sequins, then let the world be damned.
What was so impressive about this collection was how Castiglioni was able to keep all the strong shapes and even stronger prints in balance, fearlessly layering and repeating them in different manners and occasionally making them even more eye-catching via shimmering beadwork. And the choice to subtly echoing the shape in the wavy 40s style hair the models sported was a sublime touch.
This collection was a beautiful example of what contemporary chic looks like. Granted it is not for the faint of heart. But that is the best way for a brand like Marni to weed out those women not yet ready to take on the world on their own terms.