Discover Max Mara’s Sleek Tailoring With An Escapist Spirit
Fluid forms and a playful color palette combine in creative director IAN GRIFFITHS’ travel-inspired Resort 2022 collection
“This was born from a dream; I was dreaming of traveling,” Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths told WWD of his Resort 2022 collection, which he showed on the enchanted Italian island of Ischia. Griffiths traveled there for the first time in February last year following months of restrictions – “I swore it would be the first place I would visit”.
During lockdown, the British designer immersed himself in books about travel, finding Truman Capote’s 1950s non-fiction title Local Color – in which Capote documents a four-month stay on Ischia – particularly inspiring. For Griffiths, it evoked the golden age of travel, and served as a reminder of the importance of staying in a place long enough to really connect with it, as well as the ceremonial joy to be found in dressing up to travel – it’s all part of the adventure, after all.
Finding himself transported back to this most elegant epoch, he reinterpreted classic mid-century silhouettes through a modern, sporty lens. Languid wide-leg pants that sit high on the waist and pool perfectly over sleek loafers or summery espadrilles come in a powdery blue and chic ecru. Paired with striped, wool polo shirts or luxe crewneck cashmere sweaters layered over crisp-cotton shirts, they create looks that are perfectly suited to languorous days at sea on a yacht, but are equally ideal for the boardroom.
“Griffiths’ modern-day ‘swans’ are multifaceted women juggling “career, family, friends, fun”
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In Local Color, Capote writes of “swans” – a word he used to describe elegant, globe-trotting women. Griffiths’ modern-day ‘swans’ are multifaceted women juggling “career, family, friends, fun”, according to his show notes. In a fitting tribute, he enlisted director Ginevra Elkann, the granddaughter of one of Capote’s ‘swans’ Marella Agnelli – an Italian style icon – to shoot the film of his show. For the busy Max Mara woman, versatility is paramount. The light blue ‘Labbro’ coat, for example, is hand-sewn from two layers of luxuriously soft cashmere, making it an inviting option to wrap up in every winter. Plus, its loosely belted silhouette and pretty pastel color ensures it is an ideal transitional piece as we cycle through the seasons – or travel between hemispheres.
Other highlights of the collection include a neatly tailored wool-blend canvas jacket, cropped cotton pants and an oversized wool coat in a cool denim-blue. Worn together with sleek leather ankle boots, this is an ultra-modern look that will appeal to the brand’s cross-generational clientele. Indeed, there is something for everyone, and mothers and daughters are sure to covet the playful pink ‘Tedgirl’ coat, too – made from a fluffy alpaca, wool and silk-blend that feels like plush fleece, it lends a directional edge to everything from tailoring to off-duty denim.
So, whether you’re headed to a far-flung destination or your favorite local restaurant, Max Mara’s Resort 2022 collection guarantees you’ll do it in style.
Discover Max Mara Resort 2022
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