It's safe to say that Antonio Marras was a pioneer in fashion storytelling and he has no intention of stopping — nor would we want him to. “My passion for the stage is insatiable, as is the idea of cross-pollination between art, cinema and fashion,” Marras said backstage.
Accordingly, for fall, he looked to the medieval Sardinian Princess Eleonora d'Arborea, the last Indigenous ruler of the island capable of uniting under one flag the various Sardinian populations and whose Carta de Logu, a legal text in the Sardinian dialect — and not in Latin for the first time — remained in force in the kingdom of Arborea until 1827.
“She was an enlightened and strong woman, and the Carta de Logu was written to protect women, supporting civil rights,” Marras said.
Marras said the voluminous capes and cloaks were meant to telegraph protection and cocooning — ever timely in these uncertain times. The designer didn't hold back on embroideries, intarsia, knitwear paired with jet, argyle, braiding and inlays. Brocades or floral motifs on damask slipdresses were juxtaposed with checkered coats, plenty of kilts and a new camouflage pattern on high-waisted pants and shirt jackets. Gold-smeared woolen parkas, coats with colorful brushstroke motifs and aged leather jackets were all imaginative and artistic — after all, Marras himself is passionate about drawing and painting.
He turned to two Italian actors, Anna Della Rosa and Filippo Timi, who kicked off the show playing the princess and her faithful falconer, respectively. At the center of the room stood an antique-looking gazebo and the male and female models wove their way around it wearing clothes at times regal and opulent, at times more relaxed and very contemporary.
There was a medieval undercurrent in sync with the theme, which sometimes veered into the costume, as in the patchwork-on-speed dresses with gold studs, and there were a few extra folds on skirts and trenches that added bulk. But when Marras restrained himself a bit, the result was beautiful and what we have come to expect of him — as in the feather-light floral chiffon dresses or the sophisticated, tailored trenches and pantsuits.
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