It's six years since Consuelo Castiglioni last showed her men's collection on a catwalk in Milan. Big shows lost their appeal for her as a way to communicate the Marni menswear message, and a series of artful lookbooks did the work perfectly well in the interim. So why the change of heart? As Castiglioni said after her show, "It's still our boy, he's no different."
It was actually the success of a one-off presentation at Florence's Pitti Uomo in January that revived her interest in putting the clothes back on the catwalk. In making a real production of it, in fact, by transforming the Marni space on Viale Umbria with mirrors and a slightly canted runway that offered unexpected, even disorienting perspectives. That suited the collection, whose union of utilitywear and tailoring had its own little surprises: a three-quarter-length suit sleeve on a white poplin shirt, for example, or a jolt of surreal tropical print peeking out from under a sober gray coat. The palette of blue, burgundy, and tan was classic Marni. So were the slightly awkward proportions. The sandals with socks would probably have looked more outré if the rest of Milan hadn't taken up that particular affectation this season. Anyway, the sandals-socks combination suits the Marni man because he's always had an air of the earnest student about him. That certainly hadn't evaporated with this presentation. But then came lush ponyskin pieces—a gold coat, an inky jacket—as reminders that Mr. Marni isn't averse to showing off. And he's glad to be back on display.
