Antonio Marras Fall 2022 Menswear Collection

Antonio Marras designed much of this collection in quarantine after he and his wife, Patrizia, returned home to Sardinia from a visit to New York last year and tested positive upon arrival. Despite their shared anxieties about what the brand should do for its womenswear main-line presentation next month—throw an expensive show and risk too few buyers/deliveries coming through or play it safe and risk missing momentum—this main-line menswear and pre-fall womenswear appeared on the surface serene.

Both were gently influenced by a mythical hidden Sardinian city Barax, which reputedly lurks beneath the lake where this was shot; as ever, Marras was cutting and sewing the identity of his homeland into garments. In menswear, highlights included Fair Isle roll-necks patched with fabric collaged to resemble a wolf; gamekeeper moleskin shooting suits with inlaid suiting patches; and fleeced check shirting and some excellent loose check jackets with matching drawstring pants. New for Marras were the boilersuits, given the same double-face fabrication.

For women, Marras muddied the waters still further, matching totemic-mask grunge cardigans overlaid with embroidered floral patches and split-print pleated skirts. Precise overcheck suiting and outerwear lapped against long tulle dresses, again patched, matched with crafty rainbow knits. Marras has been stretched badly by the rigors of the last few seasons but continues to battle to sustain his special corner of the Italian fashion universe.