Over the past few months, the likes of Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian West, and Gigi Hadid, the last of whom opened the label’s Fall ’15 show, have all discovered Max Mara. Paparazzi shots of them in the Italian brand’s coats, meanwhile, have turned on a new generation of potential clients. Creative director Ian Griffiths said he had those future customers in mind when designing the Pre-Fall collection, which combined the house’s trademark coats, including a style he himself created for the label back in 1991, with pieces once associated with punks.
It’s been a long time since you had to venture down to St. Marks Place and its environs for fishnet tights and studded leather accessories (Trash and Vaudeville, RIP), but they’re powerful enough as signifiers to still represent the place. They gave the collection an uptown/downtown tilt that could appeal to women who’ve never considered a cape or a clutch coat before. Come for the fishnets, you might say, but stay for the double-face cashmere. Max Mara will sell a gazillion of those net tees, and the tailoring was top-notch, especially on a pair of sleek silvery jacquard flares. But coats are and always will be the company’s raison d’être. Among the beauties in the new lineup, two in particular stood out: the 101801 swing coat style in tawny brown, and the same shape in a limited-edition black version covered in crystal embroidery.
