Max Mara shows at Milan Fashion Week 2024: activists protest against fur
The Max Mara fashion show was held on last Thursday 22 February, at 9.30 am. In recent days the brand has been the target of the biggest anti-fur campaign of all time, led by three animal welfare associations: Humane Society International (HSI), Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Fur Free Alliance (FFA) organisations.
Max Mara: the fashion show at Milan Fashion Week
The Max Mara fashion show has just ended, featuring an autumn/winter collection with a very neutral colour palette, using different shades of grey, beige, brown and camel. The designs proposed by Ian Griffiths, creative director of the brand since 1987, were rather linear, with a preference for extremely elegant tailored cuts.
Overcoats were the focus of the collection: we saw long double-breasted coats and not, with rather soft silouettes tending towards oversize, but also shorter jackets and blazers, always with double-breasted or zip fastening detail. The collection can be said to represent quiet luxury but one that certainly does not go unnoticed thanks to the quality of its garments and refined designs.
The brand also played with slight transparencies in the upper part of the looks, with thinly knitted mock-ups, paired with shorts and rather short skirts, combined with dark, completely opaque stockings.
As accessories, there is a preference for rather capacious bags, carried by hand or on the shoulder, and black leather gloves, worn in most of the proposed looks, and thin belts to highlight the waist. In summary, Max Mara has chosen elegance and minimalism for its autumn/winter 2024/2025 collection.
We just have to wait for the fashion show of Sportmax, another brand of the same group. It took place at 11.30 a.m., Friday 23 February at Via E. Alemagna, 6.
Click here to see all the looks from the fashion show.
The #FurFreeMaxMara campaign: activists protest against fur
Although the use of real fur on the catwalks is no longer so common, there are some brands that carry on their long tradition and do not seem to want to give it up. One example is the famous Max Mara brand, known mainly for jackets and coats, which is the target of one of the most extensive fur-free campaigns ever. Three of the world’s largest animal welfare associations are dealing with it: Humane Society International (HSI), Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Fur Free Alliance (FFA) organisations.
On 20 February, a hot-air balloon 25 metres high and 20 metres in diameter flew over the brand’s headquarters in Mancasale, in the province of Reggio Emilia, with a very precise message: ‘Max Mara go fur-free’, inciting the fashion house to abandon once and for all the use of fur, specifically fox, dog raccoon and mink. It would seem that the brand has already reduced its use in recent years, but the aim of animal rights activists is to ensure that there is a definitive stop to this kind of practice.
Unlike the brands of the group owned by the Maramotti family, including Marina Rinaldi, Sportmax, Max&co. and Pennyblack, a large number of the big luxury fashion houses have totally eliminated real fur from their productions and collections. These include Dolce & Gabbana, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Gucci, Versace, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Jimmy Choo, while brands such as Hugo Boss, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood have always emphasised their fur-free ethos and opposition.
As also reported by ANSA, Lav’s animal-free fashion area manager Simone Pavesi said:
“If until yesterday the Maramotti family together with the management of Max Mara Fashion Group did not listen to our request for dialogue and confrontation about the unsustainability of fur production, today they certainly couldn’t miss our message ‘Max Mara Go Fur-Free!’ arrived from the sky with a hot air balloon. In the absence of a response from the company, we will continue to involve thousands of people around the world until a definitive fur-free policy is achieved.”
The group to which Max Mara belongs currently has 2,500 shops in 105 countries, and there have been numerous protests outside the stores, including in front of the one in Modena.
Moreover, it is interesting to point out that, as reported on the labels of the garments with fur inserts, most of it comes from China as far as minks are concerned, while as far as raccoon dogs and foxes are concerned, from Finland, a country where more than 70 outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza have been found on fur farms.
In short, is the time perhaps coming for Max Mara to move towards a completely animal-free fashion?
On the other hand, Martina Pluda, the Italian director of Humane Society International, also pointed out:
“It is inconceivable that the Max Mara Fashion Group has ignored calls to join the fur-free movement for so long, not deeming it necessary to align with the demands and sensibilities of modern consumers.”
Conclusion: Max Mara has been the subject of one of the most powerful fur-free protests by activists, we just have to wait and see if the brand will opt for a totally animal-free approach.
Read more:
MFW 2024: ARE FEDEZ AND CHIARA FERRAGNI ATTENDING DONATELLA VERSACE FASHION SHOW ?
PRADA X FASHION TASK FORCE FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE 2024
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