This Missoni show took place at the end of a day in Milan when headlines about the rapid spread of the coronavirus nearby were causing concern that bordered on panic. In fact, as guests lingered over their cheese plates at Missoni’s postshow dinner party, anxiously discussing incubation periods and transmission, Giorgio Armani announced that his week-closing show the next day would be held without an audience. A crisis of this scale makes the close study of fabric choices and silhouettes and shoe heights seem all too frivolous. Nonetheless, that’s what we’re here to do. And this was a pretty terrific Missoni collection, current events notwithstanding.
The organizing principle was geometry. Press notes made reference to the 1884 book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, in which its author, Edwin A. Abbott, made squares sexy. In a word or three that’s what Angela Missoni was up to here. Geometric patterns of all kinds were collaged on every manner of knit, from the most generous of belted cardigans to body-clinging ribbed tops and tube skirts. The palette was dark and moody and shot through with metallic Lurex, and as ever the patchworking of different motifs was a marvel. In the seasonal statement coat race, the label’s navy and gold intarsia with slouched-on ’80s proportions was a contender for top place. The only misstep was the cone-heel sandal, whose excessive height made negotiating the cement floor of the show venue nigh on impossible. Brands across the fashion spectrum are turning to knits because their comfort factor makes them reliable sells. Ease is integral to Missoni’s appeal—that shouldn’t stop at the ankle.
