In search of modern fashion, Max Mara travels back in time to the ups and downs of the eighteenth century. Today's conversations with chatbots were also staged in cafes at the time. News and ideas spread among the masses at lightning speed. At that time, too, everyone was trying to understand the world and had their own opinions.
Émilie du Châtelet, a free-spirited marquise, set the tone for rational thinking during the Enlightenment with her philosophical magnum opus. She analyzes the pain points of the times with sharp insights like a scalpel, and deeply considers the propositions of women's education and social roles, as well as the afterlife and human well-being. "If you want to be happy, you have to be free from prejudice." Emily wrote.
Max Mara
Max Mara
Emily had a lover, Voltaire, who claimed to be "Europe's first truly modern celebrity." At a time when philosophy and natural science were inseparable and mysterious, the two spent ten years together, engaged in scientific experiments and intellectual debates. As a woman, Emily has to go the extra mile to get her voice heard, but for her, it also helps. Emily once wrote, "At the very least, the male hegemony that excludes women from science motivates women to produce better work." ”
Enlightenment fashion carries many superstitious elements originating in the Dark Ages, including loose draped pleats, feathers, horsehair, whalebones, facial decorations for rituals, and towering wigs. Voltaire once said that Emily hated superstition and witchcraft. In Max Mara's narrative, Emily despised the complex and restrictive fashion style of the time. And science, unveiled the curtain of the modern wardrobe.
Max Mara
Max Mara
Sumptuous brocades, skirt supports, corsets and long-sleeved shirt skirts are complemented by simple turtlenecks and platform boots in a finely structured design that resembles Newton's laws. The Pannier skirt is available in knee- and ankle-length styles with vintage drawstrings and sporty pockets. The camel fishtail parka is futuristic and reversed in a sumptuous damask twist. The classic element of the modern court dress (Watteau back) is the Watteau back design, which blooms in the military-style coat and the fashionable banquet dress dress.
Emily often disguised herself as a man. Only in this way was she able to enter a café that served only men and get in touch with the elite of the time. Max Mara drew inspiration from these well-dressed figures, including a gentleman in a soft coat, a neatly dressed notary with a black ribbon on his head, a genteel officer wearing a cloak or overcoat over one shoulder, or an arrogant duke in a fashionable cloak.
Max Mara
Max Mara
Voltaire once showed in poetry that his love for Emily was not only out of reason. He once said of her: "She was a great man, and her only fault was to be born a daughter. Nearly three hundred years later, the world no longer thinks her gender is unmatched by her amazing talent. This shift in perception was made possible by the important role played by many intelligent and talented women. Emily is also one of them.
Camel supremacy, with a touch of romance in the tightly tailored structural design of reason and order. With this Fall/Winter 2023 collection, Max Mara would like to pay tribute to the women represented by the Marquise de Châtele, who advocate reason, courage to learn and challenge authority.