“I wanted to have some fun,” said Filippo Grazioli in the backstage mayhem after the Missoni show. No doubt he did. The collection had a bubbly vibe—quite literally. Bulbous, ballooning knitted tops and huge donut collars in shaggy textures were reiterated throughout, often mounted over striped high-waisted catsuits extending into stilettos. Funny they certainly looked.
Stripes in every size—XS, S, M, L, XL—were the unapologetic collection’s leitmotif, reprised from an archival pattern from 1958 and reworked into graphic, assertive vertical lines on head-to-toe body-hugging silhouettes, or on sweeping coats worn over matching leggings. Crystal fringing swaying from back slits on (obviously striped) slinky halter dresses slashed asymmetrically sideways only added to the intoxicating mix. Progressing from stark black-and-white to pyrotechnic tones of turquoise and hot pink, the colorways at times bordered on the garish. The explosive Missoni parade didn’t let the eyes rest even for a second, at times struggling to take in the visual abundance offered by Grazioli’s unrestrained, overblown sense of fun.
