All about representing the modern metropolitan self at Max Mara Resort 2024, a collection blending Italian craft and luxury with Swedish folklore and magic, unveiled inside Stockholm City Hall on Sunday evening.
Midsummer mode presented with polish in the giant Blue Hall, curiously a soaring redbrick space, and the annual site of the Nobel Prize giving ceremony. A gala show and dinner attended by Demi Moore, Lily Collins, Amy Adams, and Hilton mother and daughter, Kathy and Nicky.
A thoroughly wearable collection inspired by Scandinavian culture, and the region’s special place in the empowerment of women. A collection whose icon was Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and an author noted for her folkloric literature.
An absolutely beautiful space and ideal setting for a truly notable collection. Dinner was in the even more remarkable Gold Hall, a giant room entirely decorated with golden mosaics of Swedish legends and myths.
A collection incorporating elements like the Swedish smock, revamped into very posh hippie dresses. Taking Max Mara classics and adding Scandi touches tassels and rivets. Minis waistcoats seen on a pre-show mood-board became raw sleeveless blazers with frayed hems, while classic Camelandia coats were finished with late 19th-century leg of mutton sleeves.
Other elements – like the contrasting mannish cuffs with chiffon or taffeta shirts dresses – directly referenced Lagerlöf who despised bourgeois conventions and had gay partners when it was illegal to do so.
Overall, Max Mara’s creative director Ian Griffiths riffed on the sort of clothes that could have been worn by Ibsen’s heroines as they fought against the strait-laced society of their era.
“Max Mara is not about intellectual clothes; but normal clothes carrying important intellectual ideas. I don’t expect the Max Mara woman to wear experimental fashion,” explained Griffiths.
In some very astute styling, the cast wore high-tops extended up to the knee and anchored by foam brothel creeper soles. As this cruise collection veered a decade younger than the brand’s signature line. Worn on an inclusive cast of models wearing paper floral wreaths in a graphic neutral Max Mara way.
The show comes after two Max Mara resort displays in Latin climes, Ischia and Lisbon, as Griffiths decided to look north for inspiration this season.
“I believe there will be a huge reawakening of interest in Scandinavia and its contribution to art, design, culture and their majestic landscapes. And in their magical folk and fairy talks – Peer Gynt, trolls, giants and women magicians. So, this culture allows Max Mara to explore some new territory,” stressed Griffiths.
Max Mara does have a lot in common with the Scandinavian culture and design. Minimalism and substantiality in terms of design and craftsmanship. Designs that are rational and functional but never simplistic.
Asked to define the DNA of Max Mara, Griffiths responds: “A woman determined to be the best – a Nobel winner in whatever field she is in. She has discovered the power of clothes as a tool, one of many to empower herself. She has discovered the power of the quiet, under the breath, wow!”
The Italian brand invited some 120 guests to the Swedish capital, providing tours of art museums, boats trips and visits to Vasa Museum, a unique space containing the best-preserved 17th-century ship. The night before, guests voyaged through the archipelago to picture-perfect Fjaderholmarnas island. Dining on lax, Swedish meatballs, herring and local vegetables, greeted by blond hostesses in floral embroidered caftans. Like the guests, their heads adorned in floral wreaths. As was a decayed WW2 cannon. Adams even wore a wreath, as did Moore. For dinner, Demi was accompanied by her chihuahua; for the runway show her date was Brad Goreski.
“Cruise collections are a great opportunity to create an immersive experience of what our brand stands for. To open up all the layers behind the brand. It provides a physical connection and a chance to fully digest Max Mara. That’s crucial today,” explained Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti Germanetti.
The third generation of the founding family, Mara Giulia is Max Mara omnichannel retail director, seeing her role as maintaining consistency of message on all Max Mara’s touch points – from a show concept to bringing that to boutiques, windows and social media.
It’s a strategy that has clearly worked for Max Mara, founded in Reggio Emilia in 1951. Last year, the Max Mara group scored annual revenues of 1.777 billion euros, 61% from exports. Employing 5,300 people worldwide with 2,500 sales points, the group also includes Max&Co and Weekend Max Mara, which Maria Giulia defines respectively as “our client’s grungier daughter and the Monday to Friday woman off-duty at the weekend.”
Part of its success is being very focused. It is universally regarded as the leading producer of quality coats in high-end luxury, and while it boasts a fragrance, so far there is no Max Mara hotel or spa. Though, a debut Max Mara Café in Stockholm hints diversification in the offering.
Another explanation is design consistency. Griffiths has been with Max Mara for 33 years, joining the firm straight out of college, winning a design competition the brand initiated to find talent.
“I sometimes look at the other students’ contributions, as they are in our archives. And I sometimes think they chose the wrong guy. I never take this job for granted. I found a one-in-million fit for my abilities and Max Mara’s design philosophies and they work together extremely well. When I joined, Doctor (Luigi, CEO) Maramotti said ‘I am offering you a job for life.’ And he wasn’t joking. I have made mistakes and sometimes big ones, but that security gives you confidence,” argued Ian, in marked contrast to dozens of other heritage brands, which fire designers every couple of seasons.
“The Nobel Prize is a statement about being the best, the ultimate pinnacle of achievement. We are celebrating the first woman to win it, and I guess I am making a statement about Max Mara deserving a Nobel Prize for fashion,” concluded Griffiths with a smile.
Whose collection this season surely merited an award for poise, poetry and under-the-breath perfection.
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