FROM CHROMIUM TO PHTHALO, MAX MARA ENTERS AN AQUATIC VISTA TO BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO OTHERWISE FORGOTTEN TREASURES

No one does colour study like Max Mara. Across its 72-year lifespan the Northern Italian brand has straddled a rainbow of beige, exploring nude, camel and butterscotch to define a new neutral. Eternally committed to real life designs, the label never turns too far from the classic tailoring and resplendent camel coats with which it is synonymous.  

But real life means real changes and for recent seasons, Creative Director Ian Griffiths has introduced new colour pairings to sharpen the brands foundations. In 2020 it was pastels and greys, while 2022 delivered Beatnik blacks and greys. For spring/summer 23, Max Mara turns to oceanic blue. 

Submerged in shades of ultramarine, the LN-CC lens draws both real and imagined aquatic tropes into an idealised underwater universe. From this viewpoint, the Max Mara woman is surrounded by an endless plane of pacific and cerulean tones. Explicitly beautiful yet subtly mystifying, she possesses the familiar romanticised notions of the sea, conjuring that which makes The Blue Horizon most alluring; a sibylline call to explore the possibilities of the unknown. 

On sun-soaked beaches, masterpieces were conceived, manifestos thrashed out and a timeless look was forged: Riviera style. No one wore it better than Renée Perle.

- Max Mara

Although sublime and mystical, Max Mara spring/summer 23 is rooted in reality as Griffiths continues his own tradition of seeking inspiration from history. The collection finds its muses along the French Riviera in the 1920s and 1930s, drawing in box-shape handbags and pastel-hued bonnets inspired by vintage swimming caps to present a modern interpretation of femininity that is modern and wholly relevant for now. Griffiths looked to the 1930s for its parallels with today, focusing on artist Renee Perle to imbue the collection with the female independence that Max Mara has championed since its inception.  

One of the first brands to design for the demands of women’s real lives rather than the imagined needs of a woman’s aspirational life, Max Mara continues to be steered by reality, including the desire for a more sustainable lifestyle.  

Made in Italy and powered by Imbotex Lab, Cameluxe upcycles excess camelhair generated from the production of Max Mara’s iconic coats and blends them with recycled polyester to create an exclusive high-performance ultra-fine insulating padding that fills outerwear such as the Greent coat. Manufactured through a process that is less impactful in terms of energy consumption, waste production, water usage and CO2 emissions, Cameluxe is Max Mara’s new frontier for ecologically-responsible fashion.