Reshaping the Narrative
Review of Sportmax Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Minimal-meets-maximal. Craft, color, and shape.
Spring 2025 sees Sportmax maintain its spirit of innovation in the space between now and next while dialing back to youthful character and slightly edgier narratives to pursue a more timeless exploration of shape and craft.
A friction between minimalism of form and color and maximal technique when it comes to embellishment and detail. A simplicity of form characterizes the looks, while almost all of them are executed in monochrome – beginning from white and moving through neutrals and pastels into a pop of scarlet, before ending on a long sequence of black. Plunging necklines, gathered hems, and deep slits emphasize a new consideration for the pure shape of a garment and how this shape fits alongside the body.
But then, in the midst of this lightweight and sculptural simplicity, moments of meticulous detail emerge. Intricately crafted crystal nets cascade under sheer layers. Knitwear is executed with intricate pleat-like ribbing or playfully bubbly textures. The signature S-shaped hardware detail from previous season’s bags is made oversized and applied to further categories.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Sportmax has always occupied a place between contemporary feminine sophistication and its next possible evolution. That practice tends to end up taking shape through a kind of angular energy, a recognizably more (compared to big sister brand Max Mara) youthful character, and a subtly edgy progressiveness. This collection is largely missing many of these qualities – and yet, nonetheless, it doesn’t feel like a misstep. It presents a softer side of Sportmax, one that deploys these values of innovation and progressiveness in a different direction. Not all of the experiments in form pay off, but many do, and it’s exciting to see Sportmax take its innovative take on feminine luxury in new directions.
