“The great and almost only comfort about being a woman is that one can always pretend to be more stupid than one is, and no one is surprised.” British-Italian explorer Freya Stark made this wry observation nearly 92 years ago, in a memoir of her travels across Iran and Iraq in the early 1930s—but doesn’t every 21st-century woman feel an echo of truth upon reading it? It was in this neat parallel that Max Mara’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection found its inspiration—a deft blend between the intrepid female explorers of the 1930s and the woman of today.
Every Max Mara collection begins with a powerful woman. Past seasons have seen creative director Ian Griffiths pay tribute to Italian belles of the silver screen, medieval strategists, and female scientists across centuries. But this season’s muses are of a more intrepid ilk, more likely to be found attempting a desert crossing or transatlantic flight than on a screen—alongside writer and adventurer Freya Stark, we find cross-country driver Eva Dickson, and iconic aviators like Amelia Earhart and Meryl Berkham.
As it turns out, practicality doesn’t have to forgo style. Despite its focus on utilitarian, weather-ready clothing, the collection felt surprisingly feminine thanks to cinched belts, sleek silhouettes, and swishy knits. The safari jacket was a staple piece, and Griffiths didn’t shy from shaping its distinctive codes into something more modern. The show opened with an elongated take on the silhouette in sensible brown gabardine, while other iterations got a little more inventive—a sleeveless vest in gauzy chiffon, or an office-ready blazer in crisp linen. Elsewhere, the jacket was hinted at through tricks of styling, where wrap belts were paired with fluid skirts and luxe knitwear. Many of the season’s looks also borrowed from flight-ready style codes, weaving cargo pockets, D-rings, and leather straps into Max Mara’s usual minimalism.
As the show unfolded, the brief moved from 1930s practicality to a sleeker, modern take on power dressing. As with every Max Mara offering, the season’s historical inspirations were sublimated into a subtler wardrobe for the woman of today. “Max Mara understands that today’s ultimate test of endurance is rarely a desert crossing,” read the collection statement. “It is the school run, the cross-town rush hour, or the pivot from boardroom showdown to equally high-stakes gala.” Slinky knitwear, crisp white shirts, and cropped silk shorts were shown alongside minimalist floor-length dresses in sheer black organza.
As the models took their final lap for the finale, they split into two columns: on one side, the black-and-white codes of the modern girlboss; on the other, an adventure-ready explorer. The result was a collection that felt at once quaint and modern, blending practical style codes with a 21st-century edge. Much like a sturdy cargo jacket, this season’s Max Mara woman is ready for anything.
Below, see the best looks from Max Mara’s Spring/Summer 2027 show at Milan Fashion Week.
This article originally appeared on Grazia Singapore.
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