English text only / Article written for Rebel Femme Online Magazine
Antonio Marras Fall 19/20 runway was an emotional fashion show, and every guest, the Rebel Femme team included, was moved and inspired by his powerful artistry.
The Sardinian fashion designer founded his brand in 1996 that represents the epitome of the deep mix between tradition, homeland roots, different global cultures, de:construction, art, and contemporary aspects, translating every collection into a meaningful visual narration.
Marras showcased a Fall/Winter 19/20 collection at MFW, tracing back the memories of painter Amedeo Modigliani’s family in Sardinia.
Modigliani’s father was a mining engineer and lived with the family on the Italian island for a while. Here, the young painter, dubbed also “Dedo”, met his first muse (he had a crush on), the red-head girl Medea Taci, who became the subject of his painting “The portrait of Medea”.
And this is also the title of Antonio Marras latest collection.
We could breathe a bohemian, warm atmosphere inside the artist’s studio, recreated as the suggestive location for the show.
A man and a woman totally dressed in Marras, of course, played an important part in the scene with a moving performance: reading the letters from Amedeo Modigliani during the show, in the Italian language. It was so intense, that emotional tears run down our cheeks (thank goodness we wore waterproof mascara!).
Sunday was the day of his latest fashion show, and it also highlighted the importance of this day, visually narrated through Marras + Modigliani’s father’s eyes.
The designer stated indeed that “this happens because moments in the life of men and women who worked in the mine, mostly in the dark, found the highest splendor moment on Sunday, the day of celebration.”
And it was a celebration of memories, late 19th century, 70’s accents and contemporaneity, decorations, unexpected elements.
Women and men seemed like walking out of Modi’s paintings and embodied a sense of modest, subtle elegance blended with sensual aspects.
Pinstriped, checked, and herringbone wools, graphic and floral printed silks, maxi knits, laces cutouts, tulle, faux furs, feathers, gold leopard skin-like brush strokes, encrusted decorations. Fabrics and embellished were skillfully mixed together and created patchworks, layers, contemporary mends, harmonic asymmetrical silhouettes.
Artistic fabric experimentation came to life on relaxed outfits, from pantsuits to skirts, from exaggerated knitwear and coats to dresses, with a major focus on the belted waistline, elongated necks, like Modigliani’s models, and inches of skin.
Medea appeared on printed fabrics such as sweaters, stamp-like patches, and socks.
Our team loved these accessories worn by women, which were the result of the successful partnership between Antonio Marras and Italian brand Kiasmo, whose mission is to create contemporary artistic products with a recognizable design and soul.
Kiasmo represents a proud identity, a multidisciplinary environment immersed in artistic and creative synergy, where different Arts harmoniously blend.
And thus, it's perfectly interconnected with Marras' universe.
As soulful was the color palette, inspired by Amedeo Modigliani’s paintings: creamy whites, pale baby blue, dusty rose, red accents, shiny darkened gold, olive green, saturated plum color, deep chocolate brown, warm dark grey, and pure black.
We celebrated Sunday this way, enjoying this touching show, a symbol of visual poetry, new artistic lesson, revisited contemporary looks, and interesting volumes.
And our hearts are full of inspiration!
Photos provided by: NOWFASHION