In the 1920s, wildlife photographer Osa Johnson traversed vast expanses of African savannah alongside her husband, Martin. Together, the couple were pioneers of early documentary filmmaking, documenting Indigenous cultures and wildlife throughout the 1920s and 30s.
As resourceful as she was intrepid, Osa often stood guard when danger threatened, including from her persistent adversary, the hyena. Yet Osa’s adventurous spirit extended beyond life in the wild, and despite the practical demands of her surroundings, she maintained an unabashed interest in fashion, and was even named one of the 12 Best-Dressed Women in America by the Fashion Academy of New York.
It was this woman, together with fellow pioneers Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham, Freya Stark and transcontinental driver Eva Dickson, who inspired Max Mara’s Creative Director, Ian Griffiths for the house’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection.
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The collection translates their intrepid spirit into a wardrobe of purposeful sophistication, with safari jackets, cargo vests, trench coats and multi-functional bags designed for modern-day expeditions.
The safari jacket, the collection’s centrepiece, is draped and knotted at the side or elongated into a duster coat, acquiring a languid grit, while textured linen and lustrous gabardine lend substance to fluid silhouettes.
Camiknickers become shorts; gored skirts and slinky knits offer a softer, more sensual counterpoint. Tailoring, too, is recalibrated for movement. Flying jackets sport leather straps and D-rings, bags transform from cross-body to clutch to rucksack, while utilitarian overalls are rendered in organza.
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“I hope everyone watching this show can recognise something of themselves in what they see,” Ian Griffiths told The Guardian of the collection.
“I think that’s really important. Without being critical of other brands or designers, so much of fashion alienates people and makes them feel that they aren’t good enough or thin enough or young enough to wear what’s being represented.”
The result is an urbane fantasy of endurance: a wardrobe for the modern woman navigating contemporary life with the same resolve once required to cross grassy veldts and distant horizons.
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