A former designer at Gucci under both Frida Giannini and Alessandro Michele, Davide Marello channeled his love for print in the second collection for his Paris-based men’s wear brand Davi. Botanical prints, found in factories around Como in Italy, are applied all over viscose pieces in boxy cuts. “Some of the designs I found in the archives were a bit dusty, a little too Forties or Fifties,” said Marello, who grew up in Milan. “So I changed the colors to try and make them into my own thing.”
Bomber jackets and combat trousers were adorned with Warholian flowers. Some suits seemed screen-printed with oriental designs; others featured Art Nouveau arabesques swirling around shoulders and down pant legs. Marello favored prints on which the brushstrokes stay visible, acting as a reminder of the artist behind the creation.
The designer used his personal memories, like the soothing image of sunlight filtering through leaves he remembers as a child, and artistic references, such as Jan Fabre’s ceiling of emerald beetles adorning the Royal Palace in Brussels. The collection was romantic and is bound to convince even the less pattern-inclined.
Davi Paris Men's Fall 2019
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