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The inspiration for the Max Mara Pre-Fall 2025 collection was the famous Portrait of Madame X, painted by American artist John Singer Sargent in 1889. According to the house’s creative director Ian Griffiths, while walking through London’s Tate Gallery for the artist’s exhibition, he was captivated by the portrait’s appeal – the French socialite, dressed in a black velvet dress with a sweetheart neckline that was revealing for that era, was a real beauty. Griffiths imagined how “she enjoys a luxurious life, moving between her boudoir and paths in the shade of foliage.”
Griffiths wanted the collection to have a “fresh, light feel.” Silhouettes were neat, highlighted by a discreet palette of emerald green and milky hues, complemented by rich, jet-black tones.
Max Mara Pre-Fall 2025
Bows appeared here and there: in the form of elegant inserts, decorating the front of a corset and a cropped jacket, emphasizing the shoulder of an elegant jumpsuit and an emerald trapeze dress, and also in the form of a print on a mini dress and an oversized shirt.
Max Mara Pre-Fall 2025
Another fashionable detail of the era, the peplum, adorned white blouses and a black trench coat on the back, while Madame X’s deep neckline was executed in a much more modest manner in the form of a sweetheart neckline on an elegant black sheath dress and white “floral” corset.
Max Mara Pre-Fall 2025
Griffiths decorated flowing silk jumpsuits and skirts with abstract flowers, complemented a nautical-style pajama suit with pointed ballet flats, and complemented mini-shorts made of porous “cellular” fabric with a long-sleeved T-shirt in wide white and emerald stripes.
“It’s about joy and a little whimsy, because it’s important to pamper yourself. After all, fashion is a form of presentation, and the clothes we wear speak volumes about who we are, as opposed to a portrait.”
Max Mara Pre-Fall 2025
The Max Mara Pre-Fall 2025 collection is a love letter to timeless elegance, reimagined with playful whimsy and a breath of contemporary ease. From the whisper of silk jumpsuits adorned with abstract blooms to the sharp precision of jet-black tailoring, each piece balances restraint and romance—a nod to an era of artistry, redefined for today’s muse. Whether it’s the flirtation of a bow, the drama of a peplum, or the quiet confidence of a sheath dress, this collection invites you to embrace the joy of self-expression. After all, fashion is not just what you wear—it’s the portrait you paint of yourself.