CINEMA PARADISO

Max Mara kicks off its 75th anniversary with a resort show built around the golden age of Italian glamour.

- By Adrienne Gaffney

Max Mara held its resort 2026 show at the Royal Palace of Caserta.

As Ian Griffiths began designing his resort 2026 collection, he had Ruth Orkin's 1951 photograph An American Girl in Italy in the back of his mind. There was something about the visual of an unaccompanied, independent woman that reminded the Max Mara creative director of his own work. “It led me to reflect on the fact that Max Mara has been with women on their rise to greater freedom and liberty. We've been with those women every step of the way,” he says.

The year the photo was taken, of course, conjures up the image of postwar Italy. As the economy recovered, Naples bloomed culturally. Stars like Sophia Loren projected an alluring picture of Italy. “You see those early films like L'Oro di Napoli, and you wonder how many American women would have gone out that day and bought a low-cut ruffled blouse and a pencil skirt, and made pizza for dinner [served on] a red-and-white-checked tablecloth,” Griffiths says. “Loren spread Italian style all around the world.”

A model in a slipdress and coat from Max Mara's resort 2026 collection.