December 27, 2015 |
From the boxing clubs of the East End, via Cecil Beaton and Noël Coward, with a Royal Park reference thrown in, a nod to the Blitz and a whiff of Amy Winehouse, the Max Mara resort collection was as much a melting point of references as London, the city they chose to present the collection in. The streets here may not be lined with gold, but they are lined with fashion. Something Ian Griffiths, Max Mara’s creative director, knows very well. The last time he showed in London was in 1987, when he presented his graduation collection at the Royal College of Art. So think of this as homecoming of sorts. Why did he choose to show in London? Because he’s a Londoner. Why else?
NATALIE DEMBINSKA: “Why did you choose to show this collection in London?”
IAN GRIFFITHS: “We were looking for something to mark the opening of our global flagship store on Old Bond Street. I have always wanted to show here, so it seemed the natural thing to do. I wanted to produce a collection celebrating London style and London spirit. Last time I showed here was my graduation show at the RCA, so on a personal level this collection is a kind of belated thank you. From a company perspective, it’s a tribute to one of the most interesting cities in the world.”
ND: “What’s your favourite thing about London?”
IG: “I love London. Although I work mostly in Italy, I call London home and I try to get back here as often as I can. The greatest thing about this city is it fosters individuality. You can walk down any street and see someone wearing something in a way you would never have thought of. London style is cool; Londoners don’t like to look like they tried too hard. London style inspires me. And when I talk about Londoners, by the way, I mean everyone who lives here. People come here from all over the world – London is a melting pot, and I love that.”
ND: “Do you have any plans to take cruise on show? A different city for each season?”
IG: “Cruise and pre-fall presentations offer huge opportunities. You are not tied to an established calendar or city, so you can be creative. I think the important thing is not to establish a pattern, or it becomes routine. We don’t feel obliged to do a different city each time.”
ND: “What was your starting point with the collection? What was the inspiration?”
IG: “The collection is a tribute to London. For me it’s a kind of love letter to the city I call home. On the one hand it’s inspired by the elegant West End haunts of lounge lizards such as Cecil Beaton and Noël Coward. And on the other, the boxing clubs of east London. Anna Whitwham’s recent novel Boxer Handsome really fired my imagination. It’s like Romeo and Juliet, set in Bow.”
ND: “Who’s your muse for cruise? Last season it was Marilyn Monroe – who’s this season’s pin-up?”
IG: “There’s a photograph by Cecil Beaton from 1941. It shows an immaculately dressed, coiffed and shod model standing in the ruins of a bombed-out London building. She’s the muse. For me, the picture sums up what London is all about; when the city throws the worst at you, you pull yourself together and get on with the job – with determination and a sense of humour.”
ND: “Who is the Max Mara woman? What does she do? Where does she go? What is the one thing she can’t live without? Is it a camel coat?”
IG: “Whatever field she works in, obviously, the Max Mara woman is successful. She has made it on her own terms and she wants to be taken seriously. In cities like London we are seeing more women in their thirties coming into the world of Max Mara because they are achieving success earlier and earlier. But irrespective of age, Max Mara women love discreet luxury, timeless good design, but they’re not starchy, they’re cool, confident, and they want to show it. A Max Mara coat is an icon – we find that their owners hang on to them forever. You don’t often find them in charity shops.”
ND: “How much does Max Mara’s heritage influence the current collections?”
IG: “I think that Max Mara is unique because the philosophy on which the brand was founded still applies today and all around the world. Chic modern luxury for successful women to get on with their lives. It’s been a joy to apply that philosophy over the years. My job is to maintain the brand values and the continuity of its image, but bring something fresh every season. I look at a different aspect of the personality of the Max Mara woman every season and develop a story around it. So the 2016 collection, for example, expresses kind of an elegant eccentricity that you find in London.”
ND: “What’s your favourite piece in the collection and why?”
IG: “The shell-pink double-face wrap coat. Look at it closely and see how the silk binding is sewn in by hand. It epitomises the Max Mara philosophy.”
ND: “What goes through your mind when you design?”
IG: “I think about the woman who will wear whatever I’m sketching, all the time. Is it worthy of her? Will she still have it in her wardrobe in 20 years? Thirty? Will her daughter wear it?”
ND: “Why do you do what you do?”
IG: “I love the Max Mara woman like a friend. Every day at work is like a day spent in conversation with her.”
Text by Natalie Dembinska, taken from Issue 55 of 10 Magazine, on newsstands now…
Photograph by Jason Lloyd-Evans, backstage at Max Mara Resort
