For SS19 Creative Director of Marni Francesco Risso unleashed his imagination into a fantasy of athletics.
Risso welcomed guests to the underground parking lot of Torre Velasca, a residential brutalist tower built in the late ‘50s in Milan’s centre with a seating arrangement of Swiss balls. This was the first introduction to what he referred to as his “Imaginary Olympics.”
“All are admitted to this game: the thin and the chubby, the tall and the short; fatty ultra men and skinny supermen; mini superheroes and maxi anti-heroes; anyone who loves and knows thy body.” Commented the designer, giving insight into his casting which was a mixture of both professional street-casted models of all ages and sizes.
He added that “each team creates its uniform for the game by reassembling all the uniforms of all the sporting events which we have forgotten.” Out came all the team members dressed in pieces that were inspired by an accumulation of vintage sportswear. Each ensemble told an individual story of its wearer/player. High waisted drawstring pants, double T-shirts, windbreakers, tailored sports coats, skater pants, prints blown up from German artist Florian Hetz combined with wrestling robes and sleeping bags made into voluminous bombers and paired with bed slippers. There were references to uniforms pulled from sports such as cricket, football, tennis and swimming.
But Marni’s imaginary olympics was a game of vulnerability, no machos allowed: no mouth guards, no shin guards, no foul play. The silhouettes were soft and clean, creating revised hi-tech versions to sportswear while paying homage to their vintage references.