June 17, 2026 |
“I was looking at the whole concept of modernity and living in the city. We wanted to highlight that, by showing in one of the most metropolitan environments that I can think of. Shanghai,” said Max Mara’s Ian Griffiths, who celebrated the brand’s 75th anniversary with a resort show in the city, which with its futuristic high-rise architecture and buzzing cultural life is in dynamic growth mode. Describing the next-level, neon-lit energy of the place, Griffiths quoted the writer Patricia Marx, who said: “New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shanghai doesn’t even sit down.”
He distilled its vibrant modernism into his Max Mara collection, which he called Kinetic Energy. He described it as a “snap, crackle and pop,” collection. “It’s all about the, zing and fizz that you get from this dynamic sense of energy and restless change in the city.” Bold stripes, sequins for any time of day and sharp silhouettes offered the buzz he was after with his distinctly metropolitan designs.
The show was held at The Long Museum, a striking concrete structure on the banks of the Bund, with a cast of all-Asian models walking inside a new exhibition dedicated to 75 years of Max Mara. “It shows the continuous timeline of Max Mara style from 1951 to the present – this continuous arc of style, and an urban energy,” said Griffiths. The brand also transformed the museum shop into a Max Mara boutique selling Teddy coats bags and classic camel Max Mara designs.
Griffiths paid tribute to Chinese culture and dress, referencing traditional garments and details “but in a totally modern, Max Mara way.” That meant pared down and abstracted, cheongsam-inspired dresses or knitwear and shirts with asymmetric fastenings tucked into sash-belted skirts. Jackets and suits were quilted to subtly express the Chinese influence and the designer leaned in to the power of red, with a series of tailored coats and gowns. In China the colour symbolises good fortune. “It’s also a very Max Mara colour,” says Griffiths. “There’s something so primal about red. It’s almost not a colour. Red is also the first non-neutral that a person turns to if they ever want to wear colour.”
Graphic Anni Albers-inspired patterns and bold architectural shapes referenced The Bauhaus, which Griffiths said is an overarching inspiration for every Max Mara collection. “I think that the intention of the founder, Achille Maramotti, was to establish Max Mara as a kind of Bauhaus of fashion,” he said, of its focus on quality materials and good design. Against the backdrop of modern Shanghai, Griffiths stayed true to those principles.
Photography courtesy of Max Mara.
