Ian Griffiths Guide To Staying Upbeat And Strong

In the over three decades he’s spent as the creative director of Max Mara, Ian Griffiths has always imbued his collections for the Italian Luxury label with a sense of positivity. During a recent visit to singapore, the selfdescribed optimist tells Imran Jalal his guide to staying upbeat and strong.

- Imran Jalal

INDULGE YOUR IMAGINATION – AND CHEEKINESS

“I read an article by the feminist writer/columnist Natasha Walter in The Guardian that pointed out that the resurgence of spy fiction today is a way of making something that seems dark and dangerous glamorous, exciting and escapist. However she bemoaned the fact that there have been very few positive female role models in the genre – Bond girls don’t usually get a very good deal. Then Phoebe Waller-Bridge came out with Killing Eve and that just blew my mind with its powerful and strong female lead who’s like a modern-day version of action adventuress Modesty Blaise from the ’60s. So I approached Max Mara’s S/S ’20 collection as my own imaginary Bond film with a woman in the starring role. It’s optimistic and outward-looking, but with a slight tongue-in-cheek humour. You can see it on my mood board, which started with a pastel-tinted photo of five soldiers in tropical military uniforms, which were anchored by shorts. I find the image a little bit funny and cool at the same time. Colours diffuse the military associations as I don’t want anything that seems to make a statement about aggression and violence.”

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