A RADICAL MUSE

Creative Director IAN GRIFFITHS explores a liberated form of femininity and the culture of Lisbon in the latest Max Mara Resort 2023 Collection.

- KIRAN PILLAY

In an age where the waves of feminism break on the shores of division and derision, Max Mara revives the inspirational spirit of a mid-20th century visionary through Portuguese legend Natália Correia. Creative director an Griffiths first encountered the portrait of the social activist-poet while on a tour of the iconic Lisbon Calouste Gulbenkian museum - where the Max Mara Resort 2023 show would later present.

He found his muse in a remarkable woman whose contributions to the Portuguese artistic, cultural, and political landscape reverberate to this day. Even so, she remains little known beyond national borders. For Griffiths, this was the starting point for a collection channelling Correia's provocative brand of femininity and liberalism that cemented her as the darling of Lisbon society.

Portuguese post-war and contemporary painter Nikias Skapinakis captures the essence of the revered intellectual, depicted regally reclining in a verdant green gown accompanied by two women. They are fellow novelist and poet Fernanda Botelho and renowned classical pianist Maria João Pires, who spent time with Correia beneath the roof of her home and Bar Botequim - a watering hole she founded that became a haven of philosophical performances.