You know you’re in for something delectable when the show notes say the season’s muse is a “she demon.” For Sportmax, now operating as a design studio sans head, the idea of something directionally sexy makes sense. The brand is ready for a new life, and it’s wise in our Hot Girl Moment that its new energy will be that of minimal body con.
In a dizzyingly pink room with pink lights and pink carpet, the brand presented a collection hinged on circular draping, cut-outs, and clear string. Many looks were backless or sideless, suspended or held together with a prayer and a tiny plastic band. This severe silhouette, with its padded shoulders and clean lines, evoked something Margelaian—an idea hammered home with the large envelope bags. Helmut Newton was also on the moodboard, his sparse, evocative women feeling in step with these Sportmax vixens.
But at some point, there is simply too much sex. The collection’s first 36 looks of darted blazers and crystal covered dresses hammered home the erotic inspiration and its real world implications. Watching it then cycle through neutral tones was, in an Omicron era, too much. Especially when models were grappling to hold up the tops of their dresses during the finale walk. The magic of fashion is its duality: to inspire and to be worn. Sportmax could swing back into wearability for next season without losing its vixenish edge.
