In occasion of Chinese New Year, MARNI celebrates the Year of the Tiger through a capsule collection in collaboration with Venezuelan artist Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, a long-time friend of Marni.
A limited series of accessories and ready-to-wear designs, across both female and male collections, turn Suarez’s distinctive illustrations into prints, embroideries and jacquards, bringing the artist’s imaginative work into the free-spirited world of Marni.
Presented alongside Marni Spring/Summer 2022 Vol. 1, the Chinese New Year collection interprets daywear with a jazzy flair, lending a charming rhythm to the wardrobe. Like notes on a pentagram, endless iterations of a naively-drawn tiger, courtesy of Suarez, animate cotton poplin blouses, pleated midi-skirts and soft knits, as well as the collections of bags, accessories and jewels.
Irreverently mixed and matched, Suarez’s tigers appear on the back of rayon blousons, or punctuate candid bowling shirts. Soft cashmere vests are combined with boxy baseball tee-shirts, fluid pajamas with varsity jackets – in a repertoire of classics slightly evocative of the 50’. Dresses and blouses are delicately pleated or draped, while A-line skirts, cut below the knee, emphasize the sense of effortlessness that underscores the entire range. A tight color palette – dominated by turquoise, jade, aquamarine, ruby and burgundy, with touches of lily white – serves as a background to Suarez’s emblematic drawings.
For men, the artist’s tigers are conjugated with sporty shapes, such as varsity cardigans and organic cotton hoodies, or emblazoned on Marni’s signature bowling shirts. The unmistakable tiger skin also inspires the bold graphicism of colorful mohair knits, offering a daring welcome to the holiday season.
The accessories collection sees all Marni heroes getting a festive makeover. The Trunk Soft bag, presented in black and ruby, features illustrated linings and a detachable “lucky charm”. The Museo bag – available in two sizes – comes in brushed leather with a large tiger print, or in soft calfskin with an all-over tiger motif. Also the Pablo lace-up sneaker, and its Velcro-ed equivalent, are underscored by Suarez’s drawings, completing the outfits, with a lucky note.
