As the temperature warms up and summer is approaching, wise travelers will head north to find a place to escape the summer heat. For Max Mara, this was a natural calling. Scandinavian Vogue has discussed the democratization of fashion and the emancipation of working women, writing: “Max Mara was conceived with the same Scandinavian style.” Max Mara is good at interpreting the Nordic design style from the perspective of urban fashion; while the magnificent natural landscape of Scandinavia and the folk tradition full of mystery and fantasy are the source of inspiration for Max Mara.
Historically, the Vikings often appear as ruthless predators, but they also worked to lay the groundwork for gender equality in Northern Europe. Queen Christina of Sweden is an iconic figure of feminism, and her era even predates the term “feminism” and the wave of women’s liberation in the 19th century. In Scandinavia, philosophy is not limited to the academic field, but also permeates the cultural atmosphere, including paintings and theater works. Henrik Ibsen never publicly declared himself a feminist, but he was hailed as the “New Woman” for his plays about the conflict between marriage and family and the rigid and repressive bourgeois society creator of concepts.
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Looking at real life, the Thiel family is a true portrayal of this type of family. The Thiel family’s collection of contemporary art is still on display at Ernest Thiel’s house on Djurgården, Stockholm’s zoo island. Many famous artists have painted portraits of members of the Thiel family, including Edvard Munch, Astrid Kjellberg-Juel and Carl Larsson. Born of the dreary, routine late 19th century, these works allude to the complexity and diversity of the figures of the period. At that time, the society gathered intellectuals such as Ibsen, Munch, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard. Under their influence, the “new men” and “new women” showed the Scandinavian Via Peninsula’s contribution to the awakening of modern urban self-awareness.
The Max Mara 2024 early spring series is inspired by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, and it is condensed through her character and quality.
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Born into a wealthy Swedish family in 1858, Lagerlof’s thinking was far removed from the rigid values of the time. As a writer, she strongly supports social change and progress, and her views on women’s roles and “sex” are ahead of the entire era. Lagerlof created many literary stories based on the themes of contemporary life, regional legends, classical myths and fairy tale fables. With poetic and picturesque landscape descriptions, melancholy retrospectives, unique and fantastic fairy tale image creation, and descriptions of supernatural phenomena, she won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909, becoming the first female winner of the award in history, marking the reintegration of folklore inheritance Scandinavian culture.
In folklore inheritance, Midsummer (Midsommar) is particularly representative. Whenever Midsummer comes, residents celebrate the short summer time in high latitudes and praise the lush and abundant flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables. Midsummer has many interesting customs, one of which is to collect seven kinds of wild flowers. If people are lucky enough to collect all seven kinds of wild flowers, they will put the bouquet under the pillow, hoping to meet their future lover in their dreams.
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Stockholm’s City Hall has a history of 100 years and has been the venue of the Nobel Prize Awards Dinner since its completion.
On June 11th, the Max Mara 2024 early spring series will be lightly opened at the Stockholm City Hall, where the multiple threads of the Scandinavian narrative will be intertwined.
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Max Mara’s Cruise 2024 collection is designed in a play of light and dark, full of light and shadow. This season, the no-nonsense tailoring of the 1900s is reimagined in modern mutton sleeves, ankle-length skirts, elbow-length capes and bow-tie shirts. Contrasting airy midsummer tunics, in long or short silhouettes, are embellished with black and ivory weaving, pompoms, tassels and studs to complement folk motifs. Sleek, contemporary fabrics are re-cut to remove redundant embellishments, giving a modern take on striking traditional blouses. Inspired by Midsummer, Max Mara reimagines the floral print, using colorblocking to give the wildflower element a modern twist.