Day falls in Stockholm. Four women dance and play musical instruments dressed in white, adorning their heads with a striking flower crown. They do it synchronously, as if a supernatural force were rising from the center of the earth. It’s 10 p.m. and it’s still daylight on the Scandinavian prairies. It happened last June, in full celebration of Midsommar, the longest day of the year, the long-awaited summer solstice.
In Sweden, Max Mara feels at home. Not only because of its modern and advanced cities or its incomparable and exclusive Nordic design, but because there is something in that Scandinavian folklore charged with a captivating mystery. And yes, part of that magic is given by the history of the Vikings who, as a curious fact, established the social bases for the highly functional, effective and admirable equity legislation that the Nordic countries boast today.
History books also remember Queen Christina of Sweden as a feminist icon before the term existed and that women claimed their rights, which was perpetuated in the 19th century. An intelligent, impulsive and transgressive monarch. A completely unconventional woman for 16th century Europe who loved to break the rules.
He did it wearing pants, a garment that only men wore at that time. The evocation of her is part of the cast of women who have inspired Max Mara’s 2024 cruise collection, presented in the Blue Room of the Stockholm City Hall. Another of the chosen muses is the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlof. The first woman to obtain a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909, she was also recognized as a reference who advocated for change and social progress.
The Italian luxury house drew on their biographies to design a collection in which the no-nonsense, upright, fitted 19th-century silhouette melds with puff sleeves, ankle-skimming skirts, capes and elegant bowtie-wearing blouses. The color range is between the black and white binomial and earth tones. This contrasts with the folkloric tunics and blouses replete with pompoms, tassels and studs that evoke the magical spirit of Midsommar.
The Italian firm, led by the esthete Ian Grifih, rescues one of the popular traditions of the festival: the search for seven types of wild flowers. Legend has it that anyone who is lucky enough to find a copy of each one will obtain the gift of being able to dream of her future love. Max Mara collects them and captures them in virtuous designs: flowers that dance on flowing dresses with white collars and cuffs. A twist between Stockholm and Reggio Emilia.
