Still from 'MARNIFESTO' (2020) courtesy of Marni
When the history textbooks of the future are written, it’s hard to imagine what descriptors will be used to sufficiently encapsulate the magnitude of this year’s events: 2020 has proved to be the year that nobody could have predicted. However, in spite of this negative backdrop, Marni’s Creative Director, Francesco Risso has opted to channel the unpredictable nature of the year into a visual experiment, of sorts that embraces the element of surprise. Created alongside Telfar’s Creative Director, Babak Radboy, the visual manifests itself as a short film titled MARNIFESTO.
Viewers who managed to catch the label’s SS21 show in late September will recognise many of the same garments and individuals in MARNIFESTO. The presentation combined live-broadcast and social distancing measures in a show that required of a global effort to execute. Viewers are brought along on a city hopping trip into the lives of 50 models via their phone cameras, as they are filmed in SS21 pieces. Complete autonomy was given to every show model, in a bid to engage them as human beings and collaborators. Valid criticism has repeatedly been levelled at the industry which has systematically treated people as mannequins, but in MARNIFESTO this notion is eradicated entirely. The film recontextualised this season’s garments into a post-runway industry, and the lo-fi gritty visuals offered via smartphone cameras provided a further layer of democracy to the models who had a level playing field to showcase what they wanted. Some of the cast opted to prerecord segments whilst others embraced the challenges involved with recording a clip live in one take. In any case the unpredictability of the project served as an apt parallel to the uncertainty that our world beholds itself in.
Watch the full length cut of MARNIFESTO below: