June 18, 2025 |
Max Mara headed to Naples for its resort show spectacular – a whirlwind 48 hours of steamy streets, ravishing antiquities and harbour-side Neapolitan sing-alongs. “I wanted to show a place where, I think this idea of Italian style really started,” said Max Mara designer Ian Griffiths.
The two day event culminated in spectacular fashion show at the Reggia di Caserta royal palace. Bigger than Versailles, it was once the seat of the Neapolitan kings. Into this symbol of Italy’s old Monarchic past, came Max Mara. An icon of the new Italy, it was founded in 1951 by Achille Maramotti, to clothe an aspirational new post-war generation. Maramotti and other Italian entrepreneurs of his era – in textiles, product design and motoring – became Italy’s new industrialist kings and powered its remarkable post-war regeneration.
Griffiths, looked to that era, when Max Mara first rose, and took inspiration from the smouldering, hip-swinging beauties of 1950s Italian cinema: Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Silvana Mangano, Anna Magnani, Claudia Cardinale and Lucia Bosé. Whether they played sizzling southern sex bombs, or elegant northern matriarchs, they telegraphed a sensual Italian style to the world.
And their influence endures. For his Resort 2026 show, Griffiths took that earthy, screen siren sexuality and crossed it with the dandy style of Neapolitan tailoring. One movie clip in particular, of the voluptuous Silvana Mangano, in ‘Riso Amaro’ (Bitter Rice), wading through a rice paddy in rolled-up shorts, gave Griffiths his core motif – very short shorts, which were surprisingly versatile. They could be worn with thigh high wader boots and an enveloping coat in winter or with a little bra top and a straw hat for beach days.
Griffith is a fashion virtuoso, working those shorts every which way: for day (paired with breezy Neapolitan-style tailored jackets), night (under a sparkling jacket and paired with corset tops) and beyond (as a silky matching lounge set or as knitted hot pants worn with sumptuous shearling stoles).
Those ‘Mangano’ shorts also proved to be the ideal accompaniment to the house’s iconic, timeless coats – funnel neck, unbelted, shawl-collared and fringed. Griffiths sent out a glorious showcase of MaxMara’s outerwear prowess. But, joked the designer, “Man cannot live by coats alone.” He made sure there were a multitude of options in his extensive collection. “Resort is a wardrobe that contains just about everything you can imagine,” said Griffith of the breadth, depth and importance of this collection for the house.
Off-the-shoulder knits or blouses worn over bra tops brought to mind Sophia Loren in Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (where she manages to eroticise rolling pizza dough).
The shawl tops and matching full skirts were inspired by Ruth Orkin’s 1951 photograph American Girl in Italy. Shot the same year Max Mara was founded, it shows a girl walking down the street alone as she’s stared at by men. Twinkling crystal studded pencil dresses with a just a hint of peekaboo of corsetry played into the earthy, Italian sensuality of the collection.
Griffiths made several trips to Naples ahead of the show, to soak up the atmosphere and distinctive style of the place. The dapper designer even took his bow in a Neapolitan tailored suit and injected that quintessential sense of Italian style into his collection.
“There’s always a lightness about Italian fashion and elegance and ease of wear. They’re always clothes that you wear. They don’t wear you,” explained the designer who also collaborated with the Naples-based E. Marinella, which specialises in ties and pocket squares. He used four archive paisley fabric designs from 1951, the year Max Mara was founded, for cravats, shorts suits and flaring fifties-style skirts.
“Italian fashion simply evolved with the aim of making women or men feel their best,” said Griffiths. That also serves as an excellent summary of the mission at Max Mara.
Photography courtesy of Max Mara.
