Marni’s Evolution of Early Man
Review of Marni Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Francesco Risso’s fall 2024 collection didn’t just look back to a significant point in history for inspiration, instead there was a full-blown regression to the days of early man.
Taking showgoers into a cave-like dwelling to set the scene (hand-created by his team), today’s collection was intended to communicate through sight and sound, as a throwback to how a very young Risso – who had no innate desire to become a fashion designer – would get his views across with fashion when he was at an age where being shy was par for the course. Indicating in his show notes that he was the wallflower of a family of extroverts, clothing was a means to communicate with the world in a manner entirely independent of language. Raiding the familial wardrobes to compose a narrative for himself and others would ensure he wasn’t misunderstood. Discovering along the way that through the medium, he could create boundlessly before the inevitable structures came into play with the onset of age.
For fall 2024, there was a call-back to those youthful days of “levity”, but also to a time period where clothing’s purpose was to protect or attract, and in Risso’s exploration of shape both require the need to take up space. In the early days, there was darkness, and the first few looks emerged as if from the centre of the earth, exploding into sharp angles like stars being birthed. Then when man realises the need to feed and cloth himself, he goes on the hunt, hence the introduction of fur, which draped in large swatches from the necks of models or as a Fred Flintstone-esque leopard print tunic. When light – i.e., fire – was discovered the instinct to document through hand painting took over. Here, this section is art meets fashion tour-de-force as raw expressions of human existence are painted onto sculpted outerwear and mini hourglass dresses.
Having built up a tight-knit community from the creatives who inhabit the design studio and work with Risso on a daily basis, there was a conviction this season to work only with the joy which can be created in the exchange of ideas with one’s community. And to help the process along, no outside influences in the form of “images or references” were allowed to taint the process, according to the show notes. And in this way, it was a relearning process for all, not something you would expect after 30 years of the Marni brand.
THE BUZZWORDS
Natural instinct, raw, stripped back
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #48
As if the spoils from a successful hunt, this fur coat reworks the material into an aggressive, even wild, version of how it is typically portrayed in fashion – groomed and tame.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
As a gesture of fellowship, we have created a paper cave by hand, with the gentle conviction that the only way to celebrate this moment is to live in it.
Francesco Risso, Creative Director, Marni
THE WRAP UP
Francesco Risso presented, not just his latest collection for fall, but a sense of place as well, something that is often forgotten about when a minimal space which sits 200 is chosen as the location for a runway show, as is often the case. The set design is just as important in creating an emotional experience that will help to carry the message of the clothes.
And today marked the coming together of the Marni team to construct a paper cave by hand, which went back to the primal instincts of man, reflected in a collection which was an exploration of how we as species have developed our body coverings, from the needs of our primal instincts with furs and animal skins to natural body paint to attract a mate. And the only way to get back there is to live in the moment, in community with others, preferably wearing Marni.
