Max Mara has taken a unique approach for their resort collection this season, unlike other brands that usually showcase their collections in the French Riviera.
Luxury fashion brand Max Mara unveiled its latest Resort 2024 collection at Stockholm City Hall’s Blue Hall, a soaring redbrick space that hosts the annual Nobel Prize giving ceremony. Inspired by Scandinavian culture, particularly the empowerment of women, Max Mara also focused on Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and an author known for her folkloric literature as their muse for the collection.
The Max Mara Resort 2024 collection featured a blend of Swedish folklore and Italian luxury, with elements such as the Swedish smock transformed into high-end hippie dresses and wildflowers adorning dresses and capes.
The collection also introduced a gothic vibe, with dark themes of Scandinavian folk tales as central inspirational elements. On the runway, we could see models wearing black and ivory floral coronets, waistcoats, sleeveless blazers with frayed hems, contrasting mannish cuffs with chiffon or taffeta shirt dresses, and more. “They instantly become much more powerful, and less pretty,” Griffiths said. “There is something just a bit moody about the collection, and a tiny allusion to punk, which I think is always a good thing.”
According to Max Mara’s creative director Ian Griffiths, the label “is not about intellectual clothes, but normal clothes carrying important intellectual ideas. I don’t expect the Max Mara woman to wear experimental fashion,” explained Griffiths.
For this current collection, the creative director also introduced the floral aspect of the Florence Pugh film. “I put aside all the sinister, gory bits, but I loved the flowers,” he said. “[That said], there is something a little bit gothic about the collection,”. However, the collection does have a slightly gothic feel, influenced by the sombre nature of Scandinavian folk tales where children undergo gruesome experiences.
Max Mara’s design and craftsmanship align with the Scandinavian culture of minimalism and substantiality, according to creative director Ian Griffiths. He believes that there will be a renewed interest in Scandinavia’s art, design, culture, and landscapes, as well as its magical folk and fairy tales, allowing Max Mara to explore new territory. “I believe there will be a huge reawakening of interest in Scandinavia and its contribution to art, design, culture, and majestic landscapes. And in their magical folk and fairy talks – Peer Gynt, trolls, giants, and women magicians. So, this culture allows Max Mara to explore some new territory,” stressed Griffiths.
The brand hosted 120 guests in Stockholm, offering tours of art museums, boat trips, and visits to the Vasa Museum, which houses the best-preserved 17th-century ship. The runway show was attended by a star-studded list of celebrities, including Demi Moore, Lily Collins, Amy Adams, and Kathy and Nicky Hilton, who also attended the gala show and dinner.
