Presenting your Resort line alongside the couture shows can be a risky proposition; garments lovingly labored over by hand have the potential to make the machine-made stuff look flimsy by comparison. Consuelo Castiglioni didn't have that problem with this Marni pre-collection. Not just because the fabrics had a substantial hand, from the sturdy black canvas appliquéd with gold leather she used for a smock and an A-line skirt to the spongy crepe of a pair of flaring, seventies-ish trousers. There was also the fact that a few of the silhouettes owed something to traditional couture shapes—take the rounded, three-dimensional look of the sleeves on a tunic, or the tulip cut of a long skirt.
Prints once again figured big here. Geometric tile patterns echoed those on the label's Fall runway, but were several shades bolder; while an oversize violet keyed into the season's developing trend for tropical flowers. The Marni girl will find plenty here to keep her happy until Spring.
