A Midsummer Night's Dream

FOR CRUISE'24, MAX MARA PRESENTS A SCANDINAVIAN SUMMER ITS ALL ITS SARTORIAL GLORY IN STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

- JAMIE LEE

Since Max Mara's inception in 1951, it has never strayed far from its vision of crafting garments for the everyday woman. When British designer lan Griffiths stepped into the role of creative director in 1987, he stayed true to this vision, resulting in over 35 years of thought-provoking collections designed for real women across all generations, ages and races; the Italian house was notably the first to feature a model wearing a hijab on the runway. Throughout the years, Griffiths has shown a remarkable ability to translate extraordinary concepts into wearable garments, and the latest Cruise' 24 collection is a prime example of that.

Griffiths staged the show at the spectacular City Hall in the city of Stockholm back in June,, which is one of the city's most treasured landmarks. Built in 1923, this architectural monument has been the venue for many prestigious ceremonies, notably the awards ceremonies for the Nobel Prizes in Literature and Sciences.

The choice of the setting was particularly apt considering that the muses for this collection were some of Sweden's most empowering and inspiring women: feminist writer and literary icon Selma Lagerlöf, who became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1909; Queen Christina of Sweden who began her rule of the Swedish empire when she was just 18, as well as the female protagonists in playwright Henrik Ibsen's works.

The creative director also looked to Scandinavian culture and folklore for inspiration. In particular, the Vikings and the Swedish festival, Midsommar, a traditional celebration of the season's abundance of flora, Indeed, the name of the collection, "Septem Flores" (which translates to "seven flowers" in Latin) refers to a traditional Swedish belief that if you sleep with these seven types of wildflowers under your pillow, you will dream of your future romantic partner.