Marni looks ahead to colorful summer of fun and fantasy at Milan’s Fashion Week shows

Marni sees summer of fun and fantasy

MILAN — Like many of the other designers showing during the current Milan Fashion Week, Marni, in her collection presented Sunday, dared to paint her styles in bold color.

From the daytime outfits with flared top over a skirt, leggings or Bermuda shorts, to the busy floral prints for evening wear, the show for the spring-summer 2011 unfolded like a carnival party.

Green, orange, electric blue, pink, and bright yellow are the hues preferred by designer Consuelo Castiglione, who, color aside, as in past seasons, has her own fashion mind.

This round she has fun with flounces and frills,which turn some of her outfits into clown suits, especially those with a baggy top and frilled cropped trouser.

The latest Marni eccentricity is the leather head-cover, reminiscent of either a bathing cap or a yesteryear aviator cap. Every model who came down the runway wore one, either in two-tone neutral shades or in bright color.

Daisies embroidered on outfits and accessories added a naive touch to the collection, while bold leather lacing toughened it up. An ethnic-inspired amulet necklace — picked up by many of her designer colleagues — continues to be the Castiglione jewelry trademark.

The multicolored effect of the collection was most evident in the Mondrian geometric printed outfits, and in the show finale, a series of skirts and tops fashioned out of a myriad of colored sequins reminiscent of fish scales.

Welcome to the world of the Marni mermaid.