13 DEMARZ0
Words by: Liv Barrett
@oliviabarrett__
Subdued, chic, and neutral. All things that are antithetical to 13DE MARZO’s DNA. Admittedly, the brand is not trying to be The Row, or partake in the lukewarm steady tendencies practiced by brands such as Max Mara. They’re cutesy, kitsch, and playful and whilst their collections may not be to everyone’s taste, clearly, 13DE MARZO aren’t making these clothes for the camel coat, loafer wearing, Financial Times reader.
Having previously collaborated with Sanrio, producing a collection centred around the Punky little character of Kuromi, it’s clear that 13DE MARZO seek to maximise their “cuteness” through the implementation of furry little friends.
The standout mascot is of course the brand’s fluffy ambassador, Marzo, the bear, but over the collections familiar faces such as Bugs Bunny and Care Bears have been shown gripping onto the garments as though they were the wearers personal Pokémon.
Being the camel coat wearing, loafer treading person that I am, these collections clearly aren’t for me, but a quick flick through their website and the plethora of “Sold Out” labels over their products point to 13DE MARZO capitalising on their cuteness.
Seeing as fashion week is known for its “clinger on-ers”, it was fitting that every look debuted across the runway featured a singular or spattering of plush teddy bears and bunnies clinging onto the various garments. The boxy fit of the T-shirts and blazers were adorned with the cuddly creatures, adding a playfulness to the seriousness of what would usually be quite standard silhouettes.
A standout look for me was a sweet sailor set that featured a brilliant white skirt and top, finished off with a matching hat. The white was lined by that typical navy blue and a squared off scarf was tied accordingly around the shoulders. Personally, it could have done without the bears but then would it be a 13DE MARZO look without those little guys? The tailoring on the suit jackets and structured shorts was nice, well finished and shows that the brand under their adorable, fluffy surface, are still rooted in good craftsmanship.
However, across the entire collection, I noted that the only consistency across the looks were the bears themselves. The show started with a neutral taupe and burnt orange colour palette and the looks were centred around Western and Native American aesthetics, with fringing details, suede jackets and then patterns typically associated with Native American culture.
We then turned sharply into all black looks that featured heavy denim and what appeared to be leather as the overarching materials.
Starting to feel a bit sea sick we turned again and suddenly the bears were gripping onto gorpcore looks that sort of seemed like a collaboration between Hamleys and Patagonia. And the aesthetic switch ups kept coming, moving through loungewear, to tailored looks, to all denim and finally, landing on strange renditions of Van Gogh paintings incorporated into blazers and skirt sets and once again, adorned with bears.
Whilst of course there were individual pieces that were bearable (pardon the pun) some even “playful”, the overall looks felt slightly too ridiculous to enjoy. The collection lacked in design, with nearly all of it appearing as very standard clothes with some bears sewed on. The bear thing, look, I get it, Marzo is the ambassador, and yet, I think there would be more ways to reference him across the show than simply just sticking his limp fluffy body on the back of a tshirt.
Love is all around is 13DE MARZO’s motto and whilst that may be true, love may appear all around us in mysterious ways, I will not be associating any of my love with this collection.