New Orlebar Brown range celebrates Marcello Morandini's monochromes

Monochrome is forever in vogue and it’s inspired Italian architect, sculptor and designer Marcello Morandini for over 40 years. “I use only black and white and – like writing on a page – no additional colour is needed in order to interpret and understand,” he explains. Growing up in Mantua, Italy at a time when Futurism was widely regarded, Marcello adopted a graphic aesthetic of grids and lines early on, and his optical, illusory style is now synonymous with his name.

To celebrate his career and dedication to a monochromatic palette, designer fashion brand Orlebar Brown has collaborated with Marcello to create a series of swim shorts and T-shirts. Launched yesterday, the brand has adapted several of Marcello’s recognisable patterns onto their classic pieces including, Struttura, Panello and Disegno.

It’s fantastic the vibrancy and impact Marcello’s black and white works still exude despite the absence of colour. “The form has the power to express exclusively and completely its beauty,” he explains. Often representing motion in his works, Marcello’s printed designs now have an added physical element of movement as they warp and contour with the softness of the fabric. Taking the idea of adaptation further, Orlebar Brown has also created an app to allow you to manipulate Marcello’s designs and have them laser-cut on a keyring. By moving, rotating, and playing with the scale of his prints it gives you a small sense of the process and research Marcello puts in when designing his hypnotic works.

To find out more about the Orlebar Brown and Marcello Morandini collection click here.