From her headquarters in Milan, Consuelo Castiglioni presides over a fashion empire that is tireless in its pursuit of intelligent modern fashion. More than 20 years after Swiss-born Castiglioni first envisaged the Marni philosophy in 1994, the brand has extended its reach into everything from menswear to leather goods and fragrances. “My husband’s family own a fur company,” says Castiglioni. “Way back then, furs were seen as bourgeois, conservative and old fashioned. I tried to create something different, working the fur as a fabric and taking it out of its usual context. It was an immediate success with the press and the buyers.” Best described as offering an alternative elegance, often overlooked on today’s runways in favour of click-worthy sex appeal, Marni delivers the playfully complex prints and distinctly anti- bodycon silhouettes loved by stylish women from London to New York. Personal style always triumphs over trend in Castiglioni’s world. “Since the beginning, each collection has come from continuous research on textures, materials and colours. We try to experiment and create something that can last and be worn with pieces from different collections.”
Marni’s family origins are crucial to Castiglioni, who continues to work with a very small team of designers – husband Gianni is CEO and daughter Carolina is director of special projects – which makes the Marni enterprise feel more niche and homely than its global expansion might suggest. The team works together on pattern cutting without sketches and experiments with each design on fit models until the look is complete. It’s just this inclusive and family-oriented feel that allows softly spoken Castliglioni to concentrate on the abstract thoughts and artistic expression that guides the label from season to season. “We all work in the company in different departments,” she says of the family involvement, “and we all share the same aesthetic, even though each one has his own personal vision.” Even with the frenetic pace of the current schedule and myriad external pressures, not least commercial, Castiglioni remains anchored and continues to find joy in the process of creating. “At the beginning, with just one collection per year, it was certainly easier,” she admits. “On the other hand now, even if we are always incredibly busy, we have the chance to exploit every facet of our vision, to collaborate with artists, to create special projects. This is fun to me!”
[pullquotes bg_image_id="34113" quote="Even if we are always incredibly busy, we have the chance to exploit every facet of our vision, to collaborate with artists, to create special projects. This is fun to me!" quotee="Consuelo Castiglioni"]
The view from the front row at Marni’s packed shows as Castiglioni’s creations waft down the runway certainly makes it look like she is still having fun at the helm. The spring/summer collection was a riot of gargantuan leaf prints and asymmetric garments layered together in a way that formed a cohesive whole. Colours careened from egg yolk yellow to bottle green, often colliding happily in a single look. Textiles are consistently employed in architectural forms, in boxy leather jackets, neat aprons and macramé overlays, while the most recognised Marni accessory might just be the chunky resin bangle, often stacked on both wrists with abandon.
“My designs often start from the fabric,” notes Castiglioni, who has had no formal education in design “I am most attracted to textures, patterns, colours and the effect you can achieve with different materials when working on a silhouette.” One look at the autumn/ winter collection confirms just that, where teeny fur boleros, buttoned capes and gathered balloon sleeves in the signature muted Marni hues hark back to the dark romanticism of the Italian aristocracy of decades past. Or that’s one interpretation at least: The beauty of every Marni collection is in its slightly indecipherable nature, whether touching upon austere Japanese minimalism, aristo fairytales or quirky sportif notes.
Castiglioni is known for her outright rejection of the notion that sex sells. No matter the prevailing skin-baring norms, Castiglioni has a different, and in some ways more powerful, version of femininity. “I think that sensuality comes from a woman’s confidence, from being truly herself in what she is wearing,” she confirms. “It has nothing to do with showing off the body.” Loose tunics, wide-legged trousers and oversized shoulders are just a few of the codes Castiglioni uniquely employs to present a woman’s body as something to be revered and indulged, but never overtly displayed. Eccentric, intelligent and bold, with no sign of pretension, she might be covered up, but the Marni woman is no wallflower in her sky-high ugly-beautiful flatform sandals. And, she is no specific age either – the Marni aesthetic working equally well for a fashion-conscious gallery owner as a street-style savvy teen. Fans of the brand become true aficionados and yet it’s no surprise to learn that Castiglioni does not court celebrities, preferring to communicate simply via the shows and its stylised stores. The customer must choose Marni: Castiglioni is not in the business of forcing the issue. It was as recently as 2015 that the brand launched its first, predictably and beautifully off-kilter advertising campaign, photographed by Jackie Nickerson.
The less is more approach has worked: Marni is the secret style weapon of the creative industries, from the fashion editor in- crowd to the likes of Meryl Streep, Lena Dunham, comedian Sarah Silverman and film director Sofia Coppola. How does Castiglioni keep up with the constantly changing landscape? “By being faithful to Marni’s values of research and experimentation,” she says, “and always trying to create something that actual women would wear.” Pragmatic music to many a woman’s ear.
One of a dwindling band of designers still in creative control of a self-founded label decades in (Castiglioni’s peer, the equally fearless Miuccia Prada, also springs to mind), Castiglioni shows no sign of wanting to do anything other than continue to innovate at Marni. “It was particularly exciting celebrating our 20th anniversary last year,” she says. It was an event marked in style with Marni Prisma, a series of celebrations including a flower market at Rotondo della Besana for the spring/summer 2015 show in Milan, a roof market in Hong Kong, blossom market in Tokyo and the Becoming Marni exhibition at the 56th Venice Biennale, all in conjunction with symbiotic artists and long term collaborators. The event, described by Carolina Castiglioni as “revealing each facet of Marni, which is distinctive for its prismatic character,” affirmed that, more than a fashion label, Marni is becoming a lifestyle.
“We created not only special events worldwide exploring Marni’s identity,” says Consuelo, “but also had the spin to keep evolving and moving to the next step.” One of the most crucial next steps was the total acquisition of the brand by Only The Brave, the Renzo Rosso holding company that also owns Maison Margiela and Viktor & Rolf, which has proven a relatively seamless transition. Castiglioni remained in full control of the direction of the brand as creative director and, with a renewed focus on growing the menswear line with the help of Rosso, sales reached $173 million in 2014.
Castiglioni certainly knows a good collaboration when she sees one, which has consistently helped Marni strike its signature balance of culture and cool. Of course, there was the ubiquitous sell-out Marni for H&M collection in 2012, which now forms a rite of passage for many luxury brands into the mainstream, and the collaboration with uber-perfumer Daniela Andrier on the first Marni fragrance – but, as an art lover, Castigliano has made a personal point of working on Marni’s beloved prints with artists from photographer Richard Prince to Sir Peter Blake, Claude Caillol and architect Matteo Thun. “They have all been special because of the deep connection with the collections,” says Castiglioni. “Gary Hume, with whom we collaborated in 2010, also became a friend.” British artist Hume’s modern abstract forms plastered in neat rectangles over the Neapolitan ice cream colours of the a/ w10 collection make inexplicable but infinite sense, amidst paillette-adorned dresses and mustard Bermuda shorts. Eclecticism is honed into an art form at Marni, and it is made all the more special by Castiglioni’s instincts to include the artists themselves.
What comes across more than anything when looking back at the Marni archive is that this is a brand completely self- assured in its message. Experimentation without fanfare, quality craftsmanship without complication. Marni is a family business turned Italian heritage brand and Castliglioni is its lifeblood. It is Castiglioni’s personal touch that comes across in Marni’s wider vision – you can see she has touched every fabric and overseen every stitch – and this is why new Marni converts turn into lifelong devotees. Castiglioni understands her customer. When asked for the secret that the Marni woman is seeking in her designs, she doesn’t miss a beat: “Self-confidence”.
