PARIS, Mar 5, 2005/ FW/ – ‘You cant imagine the beauty of this place. All is magnificent: the people, the house and this garden! I lack words to describe it. It is a hundred times more extraordinary than on the faded photos found in the chest’s secret drawer. It is a thousand times more luxuriant than in grandma’s diary.’

Antonio Marras for Kenzo is marvelous at turning words and timeless stories into a wardrobe of reality. The story begins somewhere on the colony, perhaps India or some exotic far eastern land, where Maharajahs reside and secrets are hidden in the lush green moss that grows on the forest bed.

The Kenzo collection for autumn winter 2005/06 is made up of baby doll dresses and empire lines that are layers of silk chiffon printed with gold, reminiscent of rich sari fabrics in bright sun drenched colors that add light and joyful relief to drab overcast winters.

Where the affluent in times past took the best of new lands and incorporated it into their proper English heritage, Marras did the same. Embroidery and floral of all sorts is mixed with silky velvet, jacquard with cashmere and satin with taffeta.

Ethnic and striking, sixties and seventies silhouettes are long and lean. Feminine ruffles border a little jacket and appear on skirts with asymmetrical rouging and gathering signatory to Marras’s style, often preferring warm winter knit and fabric wraps to overcoats.

In this dramatically poetic worldly journey down wooden decking, jodhpurs and riding jackets come face to face with mini boleros and luxurious fur, both faux and real. The symphony of merging boundaries includes paisley, floppy hats, Peruvian richness and African tunics, Mongolian heritage and contemporary tartan.

The patchwork storybook closes in grandeur as the curtain pulls away to reveal the Grandma’s antique attic where the sunlight peeks through shutters to reveal hat stands and bookcases, birdcages and tea sets where the chandeliers reflect specks of light like crystals dancing between mirrors and walls that hold knowledge just waiting to be discovered.

Kenzo by Antonio Marras

Kenzo by Antonio Marras

Kenzo by Antonio Marras

Kenzo by Antonio Marras