Max Mara Resort 2025
Falling under the spell of Venice is the easiest thingâthe cityâs aura is bewitching. âItâs a magical place, said Ian Griffiths, âat the crossroad between the East and the West. Itâs where luxury was born, Marco Polo was a trading genius who seven centuries ago introduced Western culture to the opulence of the Far East through the Silk Road.â
Max Mara traveled to La Serenissima as an homage to the curiosity and spirit of adventure that brings about discovery and evolution. The show was held at Palazzo Ducale, a gothic masterpiece so sumptuous that John Ruskin, in his book The Stones of Venice, described it as âthe central building of the world.â No fashion show has ever before been granted access to its spectacular salons. Griffiths sounded rightly proud that the companyâs reputation had been able to open such magnificent doors.
Models paraded at dusk in the external loggia, against the backdrop of St. Marks square. It couldnât have been more breathtaking. From the front row, Kate Hudson, Brie Larson, and Alexa Chung looked rightly impressed. Although the collection hinted at the Venitian flair for opulence and extravagance, the historical references were threaded lightly. âWeâre not doing a costume drama for the BBC,â joked Griffiths at a preview. His intention, he said, was to design âa wardrobe that expresses a slightly debonair, adventurous, almost swashbuckling feel, to be worn by a confident modern woman with a certain swagger.â
Silk-tasseled belts cinched voluptuous, sweeping cashmere coats at the waist, caftans and billowing dusters had a breezy presence, and capes were enveloping like tabarri, the traditional cloaks worn by Venitian gentlemen in the 18th century. Sleeves were a focal pointâ balloon-shaped, cut like asymmetrical handkerchiefs, or else slender with contrasting cuffs. The silhouette was kept long and lean, or short and leggy; as always with Max Mara, decoration was used sparsely, yet the collection had a more elaborate feel than usual, due to the gentle luxury of jacquards inspired by Byzantine mosaics, and the translucency of organzas reprising the golden curlicues of Eastern ornamentations. The temperate decorative tone was offset by a palette of neutrals, and obviously by lots of camel, that, after seasons of lesser prominence, âwas back with a vengeance,â said Griffiths.
The collectionâs piĂšces de rĂ©sistence came at the end; the four final looks were replicas of the designerâs degree collection at Manchester University 40 years ago, where he interpreted the theme of Venice working with a textile designer who graduated with him. âThe samples from that collection were still intact in my attic in London,â he said. âThe patterns at the time were made with Ossie Clark. They still looked perfect, so we decided to reproduce them for this occasion, and they sort of set the tone for the entire collection.â A billowy cape, a round-shaped cocoon, a layered asymmetrical halter dress, and a dramatic opera coat fit for a Fortuny muse were surmounted by towering matching turbans, courtesy of Stephen Jones. They definitely had an edge. âIâm proud that after 40 years they still look relevant. What I design now is a lot more conventional.â