Brian Rea has leant his artistic skills to Marni for the fashion house’s third Edition collaboration. The whimsical sketches of New York Times illustrator follow in the watercolour works of Kim Gordon and the painted plastic bags created by Claude Caillol.
Marni designer Consuelo Castiglioni said he was “captured” by Rea’s vision when he spotted his sketches in the New York Times’ “Modern Love” column. He’s brought that same melancholy magic to Marni’s leather tote bags and T-shirts.
One design features two angry teenagers sharing a couch with a friendly monster. Another features a small girl meeting two displaced penguins in the desert. The final design sees a giant hanging upside down to read a book behind an unsuspecting girl. The penguin tote pictured will cost $400, while the other two designs are a bit cheaper at $350. That’s expensive for such a leather bag, but seems like chump change compared to the $710 tops!
Rea has embraced the challenge of adding his artworks to fashion for the first time.
“I think of Marni as sometimes sweet, sometimes fierce, which is a nice place for all of these stories and emotions to become wearable,” he said.
The Brian Rea designed Marni apparel and accessories will hit Marni stores at the end of August.
