Max Mara Resort 2025, Venice show

Max Mara presented its Resort 2025 collection at Palazzo Ducale in Venice, a grand and historical setting that echoed the show’s inspiration: Marco Polo. This year marks the 700th anniversary of the Venetian explorer’s death, and creative director Ian Griffiths used Polo’s travels as a loose reference point.

But this wasn’t a costume drama. Griffiths kept things modern and grounded, creating a wardrobe for confident, contemporary women with just a subtle nod to the East-meets-West theme.

The collection opened with a clean palette of beige, camel, black, and soft gold. Tailored pieces came with a twist—belted sleeveless jackets, long shirts, puff sleeves, and intricate collars. There were touches of embellishment, like silk tassels or gold thread, but nothing felt flashy.

We saw damask prints and mosaic-inspired motifs, especially on a standout trench coat and on Max Mara’s signature Teddy Coat, now updated with embroidered gemstones in tones of cream, gold, and brown.

Coats, as always, were a highlight. Kate Hudson attended wearing a black belted version styled as a dress, sitting front row alongside Brie Larson and Yara Shahidi.

Shapes ranged from long and lean—like column gowns and flowing tunics—to shorter looks with miniskirts and bare legs. The shirtdresses and silk shirt-and-short sets added lightness to the collection, while camel hair and cashmere pieces gave depth and richness.

Griffiths also reworked four looks from his own 1985 graduation collection, including tunics and mosaic-inspired pieces, originally influenced by his first visit to Venice. Stephen Jones made the oversized turbans worn with them—a dramatic, nostalgic finale.

This was one of Max Mara’s most textured and expressive resort shows to date: still elegant, still wearable, but with more layers, more patterns, and more personality.

WR,

Rozhin Shafaghati