What makes a runway show a truly good one? Who knows, but if you can’t help but smile throughout, that must be an encouraging sign.
That was the case at the 10th anniversary show for Sunnei. Staged at the landmark Galleria Lia Rumma contemporary art gallery and surprisingly drawing the likes of Marina Abramović, Juergen Teller and Hannah Müller-Hillebrand as guests (it’s usually a very niche audience), the show marked a maturity step for Sunnei.
First, the duo expanded time by making guests wait for what felt like forever — annoying some and amusing others as their restlessness increased.
When the show actually started, Sunnei’s time machine transported its fashion into the future by means of casting of only mature models – each with such big personalities that they risked overshadowing the clothes.
Rizzo and Messina worked their codes in extra-elongated silhouettes and big volumes, like super-puffed tops and smock frocks, oversized or balloon poplin shirts and floor-skimming striped shirt dresses. Pants and Capri pants were roomy and comfy, yet graphic in their folding techniques, including a recurrent one appearing on the back with the loose fabric gathered on the heel.
Other Sunnei staples like denim and striped t-shirts also expanded their proportions, while knitwear was worked in faint textures in tank tops in bold colors.
As previewed to WWD, drawings by Messina’s mother in the ‘80s were reworked digitally into dystopian scenarios to result in striking prints on second-skin tops and long skirts, as well as panels popping from an ankle-length cream skirt with a collarless tailored jacket.
Belts with multiple zippered pockets running around the waist, paper bags and flip flops with chunky, colorful wedges were among the accessories that added to the second sneaker style Sunnei developed with Camper.
The show ended with the cast lining outside in front of the venue’s minimal façade, in an impactful finale that served as a postcard from the Sunnei tribe of the future to the current one.
Many happy returns, Sunnei!