Antonio Marras was inspired for Pre-Fall by the life of Joyce Salvadori, an Anglo-Sardinian poet and artist who was married to Sardinian intellectual and politician Emilio Lussu, to whom Marras dedicated his men’s Fall collection. Here, he put Salvadori at the center of his narrative, celebrating her multifaceted personality and building the collection around her unconventional style.
“She had an exceptional, adventurous life,” said Marras. “She was a woman of extraordinary beauty and noble birth; on top of being a gifted poet and historian, she was a political activist and fought the Fascist regime during World War II. She lived in exile most of her life. To survive, she worked as a cleaning lady or a governess in Benghazi, as a laborer in Africa; she went into hiding in France.” Salvadori was obviously the embodiment of the kind of wildfire spirit of rebellion that appeals to Marras’s romantic sensibility. “She didn’t get the credit she deserved,” said the designer; with the Pre-fall collection he intended to pay homage.
Salvadori’s British background was a fitting canvas for the eccentric country-style flair that Marras infused into whimsical, romantic combinations. Outerwear and knitwear took pride of place, giving a feel of outdoorsy coziness and vintage flea market–style assemblages. Case in point was a hand-knitted wool maxi cardigan-coat in a patchwork of different yarns and textures, worn with a huge matching scarf. Also notable was a bohemian hand-knitted vest with geometric patterns, paired with a silk shirt and a striped full skirt. A nod to British tailoring was twisted the Marras way; masculine tartan coats were decorated with embroidered patches and jacquard intarsias or worn inside out over ’50s-inspired silk printed dresses. The imaginative treatment didn’t spare trenchcoats, with plissé inserts sprouting from the sides, or languid long dresses in crazy whirlwinds of lace, prints, jacquards, and Lurex. They looked charming.
