Marni’s traveling fair just hit Tokyo—the latest stop on its itinerant runway. Francesco Risso set the series in motion last September, hosting a show beneath New York’s Joralemon Tunnel; he’s embarking on a world tour, presenting each new collection in a new city, returning eventually to Milan, the luxury label’s birthplace.

Tokyo was far from a random choice. “To be sure,” reported WWD, “Japan is historically one of Marni’s most important markets,” accounting for a good chunk of its overall customer base. Beyond that, the creative director feels a kinship with the city: its cultural gray areas, its traditional architecture, its artistic affinities.

Fall/Winter 2023 was staged expansively, under a vaulted ceiling, the ground swathed in white fabric with a full orchestra at its center. The blank slate it provided—its air of classicism—contrasted brilliantly with Risso’s designs: rich yellows and reds, alongside black-and-white, checkered or dotted or both at once. Suiting was rendered playful, or even surreal; collared shirts and suit jackets were structured but oversized, or else cartoonishly padded. Knee-high socks went mismatched, and puffers trailed off shoulders.

The presentation was testament to Marni’s rising star, under the helm of Risso—as well as the success of its good-natured approach to high fashion. “I think we’ve seen enough [cynicism] and Brutalism,” he said a few months back, upon the announcement of this Fall/Winter show. “My mission is to dress people, and I am not working with blinkers. I think about what surrounds us, but I also aim to create a world that is comfortable, and that will give pleasure.”