Clean and industrial are two words to describe Marni Men’s spring/summer 2014 collection. Ranging from sports casual to sharp tailoring, Consuelo Castiglioni’s latest offering walks the line between utility and form, maintaining a purist overtone throughout.
At times, the focus of the collection is solely on shape, with layers and folds defining new forms. Castiglioni plays with volume recurrently, matching light quilting with double layer shirts, or boxy blazers over slight pairs of Bermuda shorts.
Billowing capes add further volume, while zip-up parkers stay faithful to the multi-purpose feel of the line. The manner in which some pieces have been designed suggest they began as an experiment; extra detailing and seams are left visible, and streamlined aprons hang over shorts secured by snaps.
The polished minimalism is modest, and the simple detailing allows you to notice the colors (quiet tones of navy, cream, yellow and green) along with the fabrics that are light and compact (waxed cotton, indigo and white denim, mélange cotton, and linen toile). Additionally, zippered bombers and leather, hooded blousons inject some assertiveness into the collection.
Finally, over-sized polka dots decorate crisp white shirts, and illustrations from Katja Schwalenberg have been lino-printed onto t-shirts, softening the otherwise controlled sharpness of the designs.
