Turning the complexity of the universe into equations is the task of scientists and for this collection Max Mara takes inspiration from physics and explores a fascinating world made of irrational, imaginary, transcendental numbers.
Hypatia, a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer who lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the 4th century AD, becomes the muse of this season, an absolute pioneer and creator of important theories developed starting from the studies of Pythagoras.
The triangular diagrams of her equations recall the simple but fundamental arrows that tailors use to transform a flat fabric into a three-dimensional shape. The seams of the trench coats and tailored garments in fresh cotton refer to the graphic signs of trigonometry. The drapes typical of Hypatia’s time are transformed into contemporary asymmetries, almost like origami on a shoulder or a hip.
Ipazia’s research on cones translates into elliptical drawstrings perfected with mathematical precision to reveal the belly, the back, or a shoulder. While the elegance of the ancient priestesses is reborn in the column skirts and the enveloping ribbed dresses. The new jackets, with squared and narrow shoulders, define the slender silhouette.
Expect the unexpected, says the chaos theory. The same goes for the collection, where geometries and precision range between the impeccability of fabrics such as gabardine, drill and haut de gamme denim and creased silks, crossed by irregular folds. Where aesthetics and construction technique merge to make even a simple poplin shirt a design icon.
The color palette is a mix of crystalline white, black like copper oxide, brown, delphinium blue and silver nitrate, nuances “stolen” from the elements of scientific laboratories, almost as if to create a magical chemistry. A magic that only apparently contrasts with the “science mood” of the season, because as the writer Kurt Vonnegut said: “Science is magic that works.”
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