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MILAN (AP) - Marni creative director Consuelo Castiglioni is seeking to obliterate minimalism with her new collection for next summer.
`'Silencing the urge to minimize" is the way she put it in her show notes. As if in synch with her intentions, the electricity failed before the second show Sunday, the fifth day of Milan Fashion Week, and models walked the runway in silence, with only the flash of cameras to pace them. The unintended effect conveyed a certain gravitas on the collection.
Castiglioni played, as she often does, with volumes of the clothes _ this time seeking "lightness." She deployed pleats, ruffles and bustles unconventionally, putting, for example, a bustle on the front of a skirt to soften the silhouette, creating a loose ruffle that flows like a waterfall down the front of a skirt or another tighter and more busy that conveys the softness of a baby chick.
Castiglioni takes the resulting pretty looks and adds a sports touch: a stripy belt, or a bomber jacket, or platform trekking sandals.
`'I really wanted to give women something to make them individual, to make the clothes really light with some experimenting," Castiglioni said backstage.
Another lightness play: creating looks from sheer fabric to something denser, like a crepe, and with the same floral prints in a gravity play, an exercise in opposites and contrasting weights.
High-waist trousers had elaborate folds on the front, as sort of origami that wraps around the body, and drop into deep cuffs. In one iteration, sheer black pants were worn over shorts, and paired with a delicately pleated top with spaghetti straps.
The collection featured many Asian touches, from the fine floral prints to the Geisha-style super-high thongs.
Visors and chunky jewelry finished the looks, along with geometrically-structured handbags.
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