Dreamy, craft-touched, and whispering of folk dressing, Antonio Marras' I'M Isola Marras collection was a hazy coalition coalesced into a romantic whole. Technically touched hooded patchwork gilets got along with kookily hand-appliquéd Little Red Riding Hood capelets—Laura Palmer via Ophelia seen by Millais. Dungaree dresses, trapper hats, quilted bell skirts, belted enveloping knits, and lacy georgette gowns all chimed in a rhapsodically bohemian call to nature and quirk.
There's no denying that this is a busy proposition, and sometimes Marras' messages get confused in the chatter of it all. As for the stag and the tartan, was that a Highlander thing or just an overlap? The latter, apparently. Furthermore, although the designer's penchant for patching his hand-drawn illustrations is endearing—especially when they are of Pierivo, his handsome dog—they can sometimes look clunkily applied: One metallic coated I'M patch on the back of a great piped check cape would need unpicking before wear. But this is nitpicking. Money-mad Milan does not often muster such honestly bohemian whimsy.
