Review of Max Mara Resort 2022 Fashion Show
Local Color
By Mark Wittmer
Truman Capote published Local Color – his under-appreciated third book, and his first work of non-fiction – in 1950, one year before Max Mara was founded. The book of travel essays, which encompasses nine locations, is a loving ode to the quiet beauty of slow travel and the personality of place. In the midst of quarantine, Max Mara’s creative director Ian Griffiths picked up the book, and was inspired by Capote’s vivid prose and nuanced appreciation for local flair. One of the nine vignettes particularly stood out: Capote’s four months spent on Ischia, an island in Italy’s Gulf of Naples. The beautiful locale formed the setting of Max Mara’s first in-person show since the lockdown.
Drawing on the golden age of travel captured in Capote’s pages, Griffiths’ Resort 2022 collection also pays homage to Capote’s famous “Swans,” the beloved circle of fashionable society ladies of which the writer found himself at the center. Griffiths injects this jet-set sophistication with a dose of contemporary practicality, casting his models as modern-day swans.
The 50’s influence can be felt in a skirt which gathers just below the waist, and appears in a longer and shorter cut. But these vintage inspirations are always modernized with a relaxed fit and clean, flowing lines. The house’s famous 101801 jacket is reimagined in a new luxurious technical fabric, with a crease-free quality that makes it perfect for travel. Another of the brand’s biggest hits, its Teddy coat, is reworked into a bomber with knit trim.
Statement pieces in the form of cashmere caftans especially embodied the attitude of sumptuous relaxation. Details like flap pockets or neck shawls are expanded and emphasized, echoing a sense of holistic luxury that can be taken in in a single glance: like an exotic flower or shoreline, our eye follows the pieces’ airy curves with a delighted ease.
Bags come in coordinating colors and for the most part are large and unstructured.
On the runway, these bags are held with the hand (as opposed to across the body), which helps to emphasize the feeling of openness and freedom to occupy space.
The ubiquitous espadrilles combine sporty practicality with a strapped-up sophistication that feels classically Mediterranean.
The collection was mostly muted color-wise, which made the mid-show touches of color especially blossom. After about 15 solid tan looks, a bouquet of fuchsia, cherry, and rose appeared, including a beautiful geranium print that was inspired by the flowers that grow in Ischia, as well as along Paris’ Plaza Athénée, a favorite haunt of Capote’s Swans. (Look 21) Following looks appeared in solid blush, black, or white.
Griffiths’ work certainly delivered on the high expectations of the return to in-person events. Conceptually and technically, the collection is a focused consideration of the power of physical presence.
Combining what is essential in the house’s identity with what feels most valuable in our contemporary moment, Max Mara presents a strong vision of the modern Swan: sophisticated, adventurous, and always in harmony with the local color.
