Marni Moves Away from Outside Influence to Examine its Originality

The return "to an almost animal state", at a time when inspiration and creation are dominated by the concept of influence and the influencer. Marni Fall/Winter 2024 returned to Milano and creative director Francesco Risso explains the brand's thought process behind its latest collection, recounting how he used to treat fashion design as a kind of "raw nerve," or an innate feeling in press releases.

That said, Marni has banned "any images or references from seeping into [its] design process," returning to a design method that comes naturally. This is how it translated into the Fall/Winter 2024 collection. Set inside a papier-mâché cave, Marni's FW24 runway show took place outside of time, space and all external inspiration. It was as if, upon entering the Marni cave, the real world ceased to exist: only Marni existed.

Referencing a comment once made by Virginia Woolf, Risso's program notes ended with the sentence, "If you happen to enter a paper cave, don't bring clothes." Referring to the idea of getting rid of all outside influences, leaving everything at the door and watching Marni's FW24 runway show without being affected by anything other than what you can "feel, smell, observe."

The first selection of looks Francesco Risso presented this season was structured, simple and all black. Sophisticated tailoring presented in oversized, broad-shouldered jackets paired with sleek black leather gloves. We then saw a series of models with black fur armlets, before we saw looks with hair covering almost the entire garment. From the models' heads to the back of tailored coats, hanging from their arms and sleeves, falling on the ground behind them as they walked, hair was everywhere.

Fur was followed by animal print, only bolder and more synthetic, appearing on tunic-style dresses and outerwear, and then silver and off-white jacquard capes and dresses, shimmering in a more traditional Marni style. Silhouettes were cropped, dragged, cut and elongated in all directions, transforming the garments into unusual shapes and subverting the models' body shapes. Then came an oversized jacket that ended above the leg, covered in furry spikes, and a selection of handbags made entirely of fur.

Marni's FW24 collection was a return "to an almost animalistic state", in an age where inspiration and creation are dominated by the concept of influence and the influencer, discarding everything we have come to know (all inspiration, all external sources). It's a bold move and one that would terrify many designers. But what's more terrifying, abandoning the world for a paper mache cave or never really knowing if your work is original?