For their Pre-Autumn 2023 capsule, Max Mara revisited and re-imagined Marilyn Monroe’s style.
The renowned Italian brand Max Mara found inspiration in the iconic blonde bombshell to create their Pre-Autumn 2023 collection. With their impeccable cuts and contemporary tailoring, they imagined modern Marilyn living in today’s New York City.
The contemporary Marilyn is away from the Hollywood lights and wears curvaceous jeans and denim jackets in luscious shades of maquillage, such as beige, peach, powder and raspberry tones. She borrows pieces from men’s wardrobes sporting man-size carpenter pants and mechanics’ overalls, always cinched with masculine belts. Max Mara recuts them in lustrous duchesse satin and radzimir (a luxurious fabric that blends wool and silk) for hanging out at intellectual city soirées.
It’s on record that Marilyn enjoyed a daily run. The brand believes she would have embraced modern technical sports gear as enthusiastically as she adopted men’s clothes, and some sporty elements can be spotted in the collection.
As a beauty symbol, the prints highlight her make-up case – lipsticks, nail polish, mascara, blusher and perfume feature in a series of pop-art prints.
Marilyn was a big fan of camel coats. Originally tokens of masculine prestige, Max Mara has claimed them to symbolise women’s empowerment. Two styles are drawn from the earliest examples in the historic Max Mara Archive. From 1961, a neatly proportioned belted wrap coat in camel-coloured cashmere and, for the in-between season, an unlined double-breasted cappottino (a knee-length type of coat), masterfully tailored for lightness.
Another iconic piece is the Max Mara Teddy Bear Coat, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2023. Max Mara marks the occasion with a re-edition of the cuddly covetable classic in an eye-catching raspberry shade. Inspired by Marilyn, Teddy Teddino is a fluffy take on the jean jacket. There’s also a collectable commemorative T-shirt featuring photographs by the celebrated artist William Wegman of his famous Weimaraners wearing the cult coat.