This Milan Fashion Week, Ian Griffiths opened Max Mara's Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show at the Palazzo del Ghiaccio, a vast ice rink in the east of Milan. A space built for endurance, for cold, for the kind of discipline that looks effortless from the outside. The perfect setting for a collection about a woman who carried empires on her shoulders and dressed like she knew it.
That woman was Matilde de Canossa, the most powerful female ruler of medieval Italy, sovereign of Tuscany, and the architect of one of the most significant peace agreements in European history, the resolution of the Investiture Controversy between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV. Griffiths' mood board told the story plainly: rusted medieval helmets, stone door knockers, a carved inscription bearing her name.
"She was a feminist before feminism existed and she deserves her place at Max Mara," said Griffiths after the show, smiling. "She was described as 'as wise as a serpent and as gracious as a dove.' And that is Max Mara, isn't it?"
Armor as Wardrobe
The collection translated that historical authority into modern dress with remarkable precision. Hooded shearling boleros arrived with the weight of a medieval mantle. Alpaca knit columns moved like something ancient and alive. Voluminous bouclé cashmere coats dominated the silhouette, their bulk deliberate, protective, powerful. Suede panels, buckles and straps appeared throughout, referencing chain mail and knight's armor without ever tipping into costume. These were clothes built to last, and built to mean something.
The color palette reflects the mood: Deep brown, rust, grey and mud, and earthy colors pulled from centuries of weather. Ankle-length cashmere coats, opera coats, suede tunics and blazers with epaulette straps completed an archaic wardrobe.
Built to Last, Designed to Age Beautifully
Griffiths has always understood that the Max Mara coat is an investment, a companion, a thing that improves with time. This collection made that philosophy explicit. "I am obsessed with objects and artifacts that become more beautiful when used," he said backstage, "just like a Max Mara coat."
Matilde de Canossa lived in the hills above Reggio Emilia, the city where Max Mara was born. That geographical coincidence felt, in Griffiths' hands, like destiny. The woman who negotiated peace between church and empire and the house that has spent decades perfecting the coat share the same hometown, and apparently, the same values. Durability. Authority. Grace under pressure.
Max Mara Most Political Collection Yet
Max Mara Fall/Winter 2026-2027 is a collection about power worn quietly. No maximalism, no spectacle. Just extraordinary craft, historical intelligence and the quiet confidence of a woman who has already won the argument before she enters the room. Ian Griffiths has been telling the Max Mara woman's story for decades. This season, he gave her an origin myth worthy of the wardrobe.
