Filing Max Mara under quiet luxury would be giving it short shrift, since creative director Ian Griffiths always plucks inspiration from interesting historical figures, and sheds light on under-appreciated elements of design. This time, it was durability – and a dash of gothic chic.
Backstage before Thursday’s show, he was waxing on about how the Dark Ages were probably not as dark as they’re often characterized, yielding inspiring figures like the enlightened Italian ruler Matilde di Canossa, and such sturdy artifacts as armor, buckles and keys.
Griffiths recently took a friend to visit Sutton Hoo, a museum and royal burial site near not far from his weekend cottage in Suffolk, England, and was struck by the beauty of the rusted helmets and other objects displayed there.
“And of course, that’s Max Mara, because Max Mara is an object which can be a coat or a suit… which also gets more beautiful over time, bearing the signs of wear and tear with grace and elegance,” he said. “It’s underlining the fact that Max Mara is not about fast fashion at all. Max Mara is about beautiful clothes that are built to last a lifetime.”
The medieval period came through in the robe-like coats and austere tunics; in the rows of metal rivets on tall, sock-like suede boots, and in the nubuck and suede dabbed on the clavicles and shoulders of woolen coats, cloaks and jackets.
The plush textures, tawny colors and enveloping shapes also imparted coziness and soft power in equal measure.
There was a perfume of the 1980s in the pronounced, rounded shoulders of shearling boleros, hooded sweaters and knit dresses – and that go-go decade is coming up frequently in backstage conversations in Milan.
In a nifty example of numerical serendipity, the show notes pointed out that Matilde’s seminal year was 1081, while Max Mara’s was 1981 with the launch of its enduring icon, the 101801: a roomy, double-breasted style with kimono sleeves originally designed by French stylist Anne-Marie Beretta.
Incidentally, Griffiths practices what he preaches and cannot resist the charm of medieval objects.
“I’ve got some stone capitals that I’ve collected that the guys at the Max Mara warehouse struggled with because they’re all very, very heavy and weighing at least 100 kilos,” he related.
And while he’s never one to make political statements, he made a winking reference to these turbulent, troubling times.
“It’s up to you to draw a reference of why we chose to be inspired by medieval times, known sometimes at the Dark Ages,” he offered.
