Creative Director Francesco Risso incorporated his flair for exquisitely twisted fairy tales for the Marni Resort 2018 collection.

“Horror movies are about extreme love. They’re about romantic gestures of dramatic, excessive proportions. Like when an impossible love affair ignites a state of monstrous madness,” he said.

Riffing on the concept of perverse, extreme romanticism, Risso almost literally put his aesthetic parameters under a magnifying lens and worked the collection around blown-up, emphatic volumes. He defined the look as “Neo-Deco.” “I was fascinated by the Constructivist patterns from the ’20s and ’30s, a peculiar mix of opulence and geometry, which translated into visually dramatic, abstract oxymorons,” he explained. Risso certainly has no lack of articulate descriptions.

Shapes here had the freestyle, idiosyncratic feel that is a distinctive Marni trait and that clearly resonates with the designer’s sensibility: “There’s a place inside me for this attitude, or at least there’s a place for it in my wardrobe,” he mused. Mismatched prints and frilly ribbons dangling askew added a touch of whimsy to softly sculpted forms with a workwear feel; huge collars extended into ruched hems for trapeze shirtdresses in crisp poplin. Describing trousers as voluminous is an understatement, their generous proportions wrapped in circular twists and pleats. Elongated column dresses were deceptively languid, their humongous floral patterns conveying instead a strong, energetic vibe, with fox stoles added for offbeat glamour. Liquid satin ensembles suggested a fluid, sensual movement, yet they looked sharp in their asymmetrical cut. A sense of provocative eccentricity was the hallmark of the collection and was inherent to Marni’s aesthetic, which seems to suit Risso’s own vision just fine. It definitely felt oxymoronic enough.