It’s the tail end of a two-month-long Resort season, and we’ve encountered a lot of muses at our showroom appointments—Princess Diana, Veruschka, Georgia O’Keeffe more than once. Max Mara’s Ian Griffiths landed on Eileen Gray. A female architect of the early 20th century, a time when there were few women in the field, Gray is remembered more for her accomplishments than a splashy sense of personal style; a Google search reveals she had a taste for men’s tailoring. Her subtle elegance suits Max Mara just fine. This is a label renowned for its classic double-face cashmere coats, not for specializing in the latest trends.
Griffiths and co. imagined Gray vacationing on the French Riviera, where she built a seaside villa, named E-1027, in the late 1920s, ruffling feathers in the male-dominated architecture world in the process. “The poverty of modern architecture stems from the atrophy of sensuality,” she said. In retaliation, Le Corbusier apparently painted murals on the house. Naked! The Max Mara woman, in contrast to the petulant Le Corbusier, is always dignified. Though this collection takes its cues from the Côte d’Azur, with terrific marinière stripe knits of all gauges, it’s not a destination collection per se. The emphasis remains on double-face tailoring, and there’s no shortage of cashmere outerwear—remember, it ships November-ish. Also in the mix are some charming dresses, vaguely 1930s in spirit with gently nipped waists and midi lengths. A sleeveless white linen style tipped with navy is a timeless beauty.
