In press materials, Marni imposes a modern framework onto its Fall/Winter 2019 show, dubbing it “Neuroerotik,” an imagined variation on an escape-the-room game in which one’s own anatomy holds the key to liberation. The premise seems a cultural departure for creative director Francesco Risso, known for an interest in classical ideals. Instead, with descriptions of “fornicating scarves” and “diamonds like chastity belts,” the synopsis conjured both a sex-positive fashion arcade and a late-capitalist conundrum—one in which “men’s jackets get broken” while “engagement rings hold liquid tunics together, ” the natural body and ordered society locked in a tug of war.

Whatever the thought behind it, the collection was yet another venue for Risso’s flairs of color and asymmetrical tailoring, while touches of grindhouse grit—platforms and chains—strayed from the designer’s classically feminine M.O. But Risso’s take on the dystopian was more historical than futuristic, pairing stovepipe boots with Greco-Roman silhouettes by way of the Salem witch trials. 

The high-concept show closed with latter-day muse Jess Maybury, who channeled the Mona Lisa in a witchy grecian gown—if the Mona Lisa wore a dog collar, that is. Because as fun as it is to play games, it’s more fun to break the rules.