Marni Spring/Summer 2025 was organised chaos. Hosted at the brand’s showroom in Milan, even just getting into the venue of Marni’s SS25 show was a kind of organised chaos where press, fans, influencers, and celebrities including Future, Jack Harlow, Maya Jama, and more all crowded on the bustling pavement waiting to be let into the space. When we finally did get in, what we found inside the venue was equally chaotic.
Instead of the regular rows of seats that you expect from a runway show, the cavernous space, dimly lit in low, red lights, was filled to the brim with wooden chairs. Dotted from wall to wall, the chairs filled the space, with narrow corridors between them that guests were forced to navigate in order to find their allocated seats.
If you’re as perceptive as us, you would have also noticed that between the columns of chairs were lines drawn on the floor, mapping different routes in different colours. It wasn’t hard to put two-and-two together, and come to the conclusion that models would each have different routes to walk. But seeing exactly that come to life as the lights came up and Marni’s showspace came to life was even more chaotic than we’d predicted.
As the first three models stepped into the showspace, they each took a different route through the maze of chairs, turning suddenly and unpredictably seemingly at random points. This sense of organised chaos was arguably translated into Marni’s collection itself too, which presented classic, timeless silhouettes and pieces updated with a playful Marni twist.
Casual t-shirts were worn impractically like capes with the armholes hanging loose and empty, whilst sleek suits were with decorated giant, cartoon-style ties and oversized collars and pockets. Classic heels were curved and bulging at the toe in a style that can only be described as clownish, and hats were supersized, folded like they were made out of paper or with bouncing feathers adorning the top.
Tailored jackets and shirts were simple and understated, apart from the fact that some appeared to be made out of latex, and the constant switches between monochromatics and bright pops of colour almost felt psychedelic. As the live band playing classical music reached fever pitch, the collection came to a head with a series of A-line dresses reminiscent of eras passed, seen covered in polka dots and finally detailed with glittering florals.
Reading Marni’s show notes after Creative Director Francesco Risso took his final bow, we expected to find some reason for the madness, an explanation behind the chaos; but instead, the show notes were a nonsense verse about a white rabbit. At that point, we had to laugh.
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