<\/p>\n
\n\tStaging a cruise show at the Royal Palace of Caserta could suggest ballgowns and crinolines, but the lineup designed by creative director Ian Griffiths for Max Mara was as far from that as could be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThink more Silvana Mangano in the 1949 movie \u201cRiso Amaro,\u201d her shorts rolled up to make her way through the flooded rice fields, or Sophia Loren in the 1963 Vittorio de Sica film \u201cIeri, oggi, domani [\u2018yesterday, today, tomorrow\u2019]\u201d with Marcello Mastroianni\u00a0\u2014 the iconic actress smoldering in black lingerie on the movie\u2019s billboard.<\/p>\n
\n\tIndeed, the collection was a touch sexier this season, and aimed at the type of free-spirited woman who boldly dons shorts under a cropped top and thigh-high leather boots.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think Italian style, which has captured everyone\u2019s imagination, was made known globally by film as much as anything else,\u201d Griffiths said ahead of the show, held Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe argued that actresses such as Mangano and Loren have been inspirational globally, contributing to building Italian style at a time when fashion designers had still not emerged, as they did later. \u201cI think we\u2019re still living with that legacy today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFast forward several decades and a group of modern stars attended the show, ranging from Sharon Stone and Gwyneth Paltrow to Joey King, who last year <\/em><\/strong>received the Women in Film\u2019s Max Mara Face of the Future Award,\u00a0and Zhu Zhu.<\/p>\n \n\tCaserta is positioned around 20 miles north of Naples, and the Royal Palace, the largest complex built in Europe during the 18th century and recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, was erected by the House of Bourbon Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. Naples was key for Griffiths as he developed the cruise collection.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe looked to the most extreme Italian city, the city that has the most Italianness, because this collection is very much about Italianness, if you want to call it that. And in Naples, you find it in huge quantities, this spirit and verve,\u201d said the designer during a preview in the city.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEveryone knows the story of Naples during and after the war. And if you read \u2018Naples \u201844\u2019 [by Norman Lewis on the aftermath of World War II], he describes his horror initially at the conditions in which Neapolitans were living, but ends the book in huge admiration of their courage and their determination and their spirit. And it\u2019s this idea of the indomitable Italian spirit that I wanted to commemorate with this collection.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAsked if he was pursuing a romantic idea of Naples, he admitted \u201cin fashion we deal in romantic ideas. I\u2019ve been having all sorts of conversations with students about whether or not it\u2019s appropriate for fashion to depict painful or truthful, difficult moments from the past, whether that\u2019s tasteful and or should be left to artists to deal with, and about the difference between fashion and art. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cArt is about truth and fashion is about fantasy. I think necessarily because of the nature of fashion, we deal with idealized versions of what we imagine could be the truth and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. The currency of fashion is this beautified version of Naples, a fantasy of Naples,\u201d he said, adding that it is a city he loves to visit on a regular basis.<\/p>\n \n\tWhy not show in Naples then? The designer chose Caserta \u201csimply because it was the most impressive place we saw. We saw so many beautiful corners of Naples, any of which would have made a great location for a show. But we wanted to show in the biggest and best and there\u2019s something about the Royal Palace, which, despite its huge size, is relatively unknown, especially to foreigners. They don\u2019t make it that far, so we wanted to expose it.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, the striking stuccoed and frescoed Baroque edifice and its grandeur contributed to the contrast with the contemporary woman inspired by Mangano, \u201cdressed to engage with her everyday life,\u201d in alignment with the brand\u2019s ethos. Founder Achille Maramotti famously said he wanted to dress the \u201cwives of the local doctors and lawyers\u201d because he knew they were the ones who would lead global change.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe started with the 1951 Ruth Orkin photo \u2018American Girl in Italy\u2019 of a proud and insouciant woman walking unaccompanied on the street, which was then regarded as something worthy of comment,\u201d said Griffiths, showing his mood board.<\/p>\n \n\tThe choice of the image was \u201ca way of saying how far we have come in 75 years, as 1951 was also the date Max Mara was founded, hoping now you feel able to cross the road to get to the restaurant without being hassled,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile feminine and sensuous, there was also a definite menswear influence in the collection \u2014 starting from the demure loafers worn by the models. \u201cYou can\u2019t look at Naples without looking at the Neapolitan dandy and Marinella is the most perfect example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMax Mara collaborated with the famed Naples-based tie-maker E. Marinella, creating a series of silk pajama suits embellished by that brand\u2019s signature motifs. Griffiths chose Marinella prints designed in 1951 that temper with a bit of menswear \u201cthe more voluptuous femininity than usual in this collection.\u201d The patterns appeared on fringed miniskirts or flowing long blouses as well as below-the-knee trapeze skirts that had a whiff of the \u201850s.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Marinella motifs were revisited and supersized as embroidered and sparkling and sequined patterns on cashmere sweaters and cardigans or sleek white blouses. \u201cThis is a product that goes into the stores in November, so it\u2019s the kind of thing that you buy when it\u2019s miserable and the holiday season is coming up,\u201d Griffiths said.<\/p>\n \n\tCandy striped shirts in pink and blue with crisp white collars and cuffs were worn under feather-light and deconstructed jackets working with Neapolitan tailor Vincenzo Cuomo. \u201cIt\u2019s so hot down here, the tailors have learned how to take out everything but the essential,\u201d the designer said.<\/p>\n \n\tCoats are iconic at Max Mara and this season they did not disappoint \u2014 belted, shawl collared or fringed. The signature teddy coat was shown in a delightful candy pink hue or cropped as a vest.<\/p>\n \n\tFull-circle skirts were worn under matching strapless bras and capelets. There were a few prints reproducing the rich decorations of the palace on silk shorts or blouses, in a subtle and neutral color palette.<\/p>\n \n\tFor evening, Griffiths paraded strapless gowns dripping with crystals \u2014 after all, he believes \u201cit\u2019s an effective way of finishing a show, it never loses its sparkle,\u201d he said shrugging. True, and it was even more powerful in the context of the beautiful location, under the huge vaults of the arcade where the show was held, the well-tended gardens and magnificent fountains and statues in the background.<\/p>\n \n\tGriffiths stands by the concept of presenting the Max Mara customer with garments that have \u201ca strong element of newness, even sexier than what she would normally wear, but thought for her in a way which is going to make her feel totally confident about wearing it.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking of the \u201cbond of trust\u201d the brand has with its customers, \u201cwe would be making a huge mistake if we sold something to that woman and she put it on and felt ridiculous. So that\u2019s a huge responsibility.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tNo need to worry. This collection was perfectly in sync with what Max Mara stands for \u2014 sophistication, luxurious materials, high quality, understated glamor and that touch of Italianness Griffiths embraces with brio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Staging a cruise show at the Royal Palace of Caserta could suggest ballgowns and crinolines, but the lineup designed by creative director Ian Griffiths for Max Mara was as far from that as could be.\u00a0 Think more Silvana Mangano in the 1949 movie \u201cRiso Amaro,\u201d her shorts rolled up to make her way through the flooded rice fields, or Sophia Loren in the 1963 Vittorio de Sica film \u201cIeri, oggi, domani [\u2018yesterday, today, tomorrow\u2019]\u201d with Marcello Mastroianni\u00a0\u2014 the iconic actress smoldering in black lingerie on the movie\u2019s billboard. Indeed, the collection was a touch sexier this season, and aimed at the type of free-spirited woman who boldly dons shorts under a cropped top and thigh-high leather boots. \u201cI think Italian style, which has captured everyone\u2019s imagination, was made known globally by film as much as anything else,\u201d Griffiths said ahead of the show, held Tuesday evening. He argued that actresses such as Mangano and Loren have been inspirational globally, contributing to building Italian style at a time when fashion designers had still not emerged, as they did later. \u201cI think we\u2019re still living with that legacy today.\u201d Fast forward several decades and a group of modern stars attended the show, ranging from Sharon Stone and Gwyneth Paltrow to Joey King, who last year received the Women in Film\u2019s Max Mara Face of the Future Award,\u00a0and Zhu Zhu. Caserta is positioned around 20 miles north of Naples, and the Royal Palace, the largest complex built in Europe during the 18th century and recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, was erected by the House of Bourbon Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. Naples was key for Griffiths as he developed the cruise collection. \u201cWe looked to the most extreme Italian city, the city that has the most Italianness, because this collection is very much about Italianness, if you want to call it that. And in Naples, you find it in huge quantities, this spirit and verve,\u201d said the designer during a preview in the c…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}