At every Antonio Marras show the mise-en-scène plays a central role in bringing the designer’s collections to life. This season Marras outdid himself with a central tableau vivant reproducing an eclectic country home filled with family knickknacks, a piano and even a greenhouse overflowing with blooming flowers.  Wandering among the delightful, slightly disheveled scenery was a “family” of actors who were stylishly - if not eccentrically - dressed. According to the designer he was trying to bring to life the aesthetic of Virginia Woolf and the famed Bloomsbury Set and explore the idea of blending the worlds of city and country life.
 
Merging genres is something of a hallmark for any Marras show. His magpie eye loves to mix together menswear shapes and fabrics with feminine embellishments and floral prints. A true romantic at heart, here the designer explored a hodgepodge of ideas from oversized sweaters tricked out with floral needlepoint patterns to a gold knitwear ensemble, 1950s wide-skirted dresses and red and gold “tapestry” coats. There was an abundance of lace and beaded embellishments on a number of outfits that could never be mistaken for anything other than Marras designs. But even the more reserved pieces (a white swing coat comes to mind) had a quiet grace that could appeal to those who favor a more minimal aesthetic.
 
Marras is a designer who operates outside the ebb and flow of fashion. It might not be a place to live in year round, but his inviting universe does make for a nice place to visit from time to time.

- Jessica Michault