We premiere images from the Milanese brand’s Dean Langley collaboration
Milan’s menswear week is dominated by a handful or ’bigger than life’ brands, often named after its founder and with a long lineage of traditions. All of them serve a purpose and each season create elegant and beautifully crafted luxury collections. But many of them lack a subtle touch, and all of them are loud – both in terms of the clothes and how and what they communicate. Marni is an exception to the rule on most of those accounts. Designed by Consuelo Castiglioni, the Milanese brand is known for its thoughtful and simple take on male wardrobe staples, while still managing to add a few jaw dropping showpieces as well. This sombre take on fashion has led Marni to stage presentations rather than showing its collections on a catwalk. Located at their Via della Spiga store, designers, stylists and other staff associated with the collection are on hand to walk and talk you through the ins and outs of the season in question.For Autumn Winter 2013, Marni collaborated with British Art Director Dean Langley on a series of images to highlight the quirks of the collection. With two of them seen here exclusively on PORT, the images will form the foundation of a Marni book, released later this year. The collection itself bears all the hallmarks of Castiglioni’s inspiration for the season; the 1970s. A deep and moody colour palette included tones of mustard, burgundy, camel, petrol and midnight blue. Slim suits with adjustable straps at the hem and nylon-inserted pockets flaps fused those two elements that rarely go hand in hand; style and substance.
Throughout the collection, Castiglioni’s choice of fabrics – wool felt, twisted wool, technical polyester, cotton gabardine – highlighted Marni’s dedication to qualitative luxury and expert craftsmanship and brought to life with the help of stylist Michele Rafferty. Add to that the brand’s signature floral prints and stripes, plus a dash of dogs tooth and micro grids, and you have yet another topnotch collection from Milan’s unsung menswear heroes.
