Hybridization is a concept Antonio Marras has explored since his label’s inception. His restless nature has always found a sort of solace in the practice of artistic assemblages, which gives him the room to experiment he needs to express his creative exuberance. The maximalist mash-ups so popular today? He was there before they went mainstream.
For spring he walked that familiar route with even bolder conviction. He built the collection from a vintage foulard belonging to his mother, printed with baroque curlicue motifs, “which of course bring to mind a certain blonde designer,” he joked, referring to Donatella Versace. But regardless of obvious references, that square of printed silk carried personal memories.
Field jackets, parkas, peacoats and bombers with a vintage surplus flavor were submitted to an intensive patchwork treatment. Floral and animalier patches, sequins, paisleys, and the said curlicued silk foulards were appliquéd, embroidered, “invaded and disrupted,” as per Marras’s description, reincarnated into new decorative entities, a crazy camouflage of sorts made from fabric leftovers and shreds of discarded trimmings. A hybrid shirt-bomber made from slices of clashing prints had huge batwing sleeves and was cropped at the waist, bringing to memory the ’80s shapes favored by the influential Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto. It was part of an offer of one-of-a-kind pieces which, together with a variety of everyday unisex options, added further range to the collection.
“It’s all about harmony and madness,” said Marras. “But there’s always a method in Antonio’s madness,” joked his wife Patrizia. “ For him, it’s just about the love of being free, letting his creativity fly with no boundaries.”
