Challenging tonal subtlety: Max Mara’s 2020 Resort Collection

Blending minimal modernism with structural connotations was Max Mara this season, storming the cement and marble staircase founded by David Chipperfield back in the 19thcentury brick-walled hall of the Neues Museum, demolished in World War II and flourished by the British architect in 2009. Unwaveringly working around the notion of deconstruction and protection (fact which epitomises a closeaffinity to the Berlin wall), likewise attack and defence, the highly detailed collection symbolises an appeal of confronting one another via the juxtaposition of masculinity and femininity, seeking for a “genderless” stance throughout the collection. Based on reformulations of some of last season’s silhouettes, Ian Griffths deconstructs and reconstructs dapper yet urban elements into new refreshing pieces, flooded with classic cuts, including details that are translated into elaborate tailoring.

Furthermore, Max Mara’s Creative Director chose to infuse modernism with the sharp yet electric allure of Marlene Dietrich and David Bowie, epitomising a “sartorial embodiment” through flared tailoring worn by both icons, who spent fragments of their lives in Berlin. Griffthscombined it with elements characterised in Neues Museum’s ancient collections, such as the Bronze Age, as enlightened by Reema Pachachi’s jewellery. Inspired by the aesthetics of political and musical components, the label developed ensembles rich in construction details, docile colours and prints, nodding to a sense of modest charm. Featuring asymmetric cuts and fluid shapes, the collection blends workwear classics with an inflection of graceful femininity, blooming an overall sense of precariat glamour. An avant-garde “functional” collection infused with a dosage of chromatic experimentation and textural dissociation was required to navigate the world of both icons, dreaming and retaining fashion’s core mantra: see it, love it, buy it.