Milan Fashion Week: Marni

Consuelo Castiglione staged one of her best Marni collections for several seasons, returning to the chic-boho look we know and love, with a quirky interplay of shape, silhouette, texture, pattern and colour.

From the opening ensemble of pink-on-pink, a belted, open coat over a longer, below-knee skirt, to the finale outfit of a shaggy Mongolian fur coat dyed saffron and teamed with a brown-lemon-lime printed dress, it was obvious, this was a vintage show brought right up-to-date.

The delight was in the mix of odd colours – pink with tan, grey with yellow and pink, teal and black with delphinium blue.

And the contrasting layers were charming: a pink shrug over a grey mid-sleeved top, over a longer slim skirt in lemon, accessorized with grey knee-socks and olive platform stack-heels; or a blue top with an asymmetric ruffle, a pink-toned fur and tan skirt; or a grey mink shrug surrounding the shoulders of a grey and lime-printed coat, over pink, cropped trousers.

Then there were the new shapes: dolman-sleeved dresses, a new puffed sleeve ending in a small band just at the elbow, a series of tucks at the midriff to emphasise the waist.

Clumpy, open-toed boots, balanced on wooden soles and heels – rather like the clogs butchers wear in Wanchai Market in Hong Kong - satchel handbags and rucksacks in a mix of fur, leather and print, added the perfect, offbeat finishing touches.

Marni autumn/winter 2008/2009 collection
Photographs by Reuters