21 December 2022 |
The meshing of Marilyn Monroe and Max Mara goes miles beyond the alliterative double “M”. An international sex symbol and paragon of intellect and intelligence, there’s a certain symmetry between the woman Monroe was and the household name-brand that Max Mara is. As famous now as she was in the fifties – more so even, considering the wealth of crowd-pleasing biopics, books and imitations that have followed her death – Monroe has cropped up as a recurring figurehead for the Italian maison for generations.
For pre-fall 2023, Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths felt inspired by the woman described in Elizabeth Winder’s evocative biography, Marilyn in Manhattan: Her Year of Joy. That watershed annum of 1954 signifies when Monroe dove headfirst into educating herself; from developing her tastes in literature, music and art, to forming lasting friendships with writers, intellectuals and her second husband-soon-to-be, Arthur Miller.
Called The Iconoclassics, this pre-fall offering is a modern imagining of the Monroe that might have been, had she never left New York. The modern Monroe favours curvaceous jeans and matching denim jackets, to hug and hold her striking figure. As if from the closets of her lovers, she is poised in oversized carpenter pants or mechanics’ overalls recut in lustrous duchesse satin and silk radzmir, each cinched in with heavy-set masculine belts. Camel coats pulled from the house’s archives are reinterpreted for the 21st century, too. From 1961, a cashmere belted wrap coat comes back to life beautifully and a sartorially splendid, unlined, double breasted overcoat is gloriously lightweight. Set to celebrate its tenth anniversary in the new year, a re-editioned Max Mara Teddy Bear Coat comes into the fold as well, alongside the Teddy Teddino, a waist length version for the everyday.
New-age technical sports gear is worked into the iconic collection too, referring to the daily runs embarked upon by the Max Mara muse. Collection highlights include a sheath dress, a full skirt and an iconic 101801 coat in techno-mesh, all at once athletic and delightfully delicate.
The collectable graphic tees bring a touch of tongue-in-cheek to the edit too, featuring canine compositions by renowned American artist William Wegman. A series of pop art prints depict a mosaic of makiages too, including lipsticks, nail varnishes, mascaras, blushes and perfumes – all beauty basics the admired actress was never without. Marilyn Monroe’s influence will never fade. Here, her essence, embodied by Max Mara, is everlasting.
Photography by Vito Fernicola.
