This time last year, Maximilian Davis made his debut for Ferragamo in a grand courtyard draped with red banners and heaped with red sand in a splashy outing, declaring the 27-year-old British designer a force to be reckoned with in Milan. Just a couple of collections later, Maximilian has emerged all the wiser as a designer with a mature point of view. His latest show was far from the grand spectacle of his first, instead laser-focused on intelligent, sharp clothes that manage to appear both cerebral and sexy. The way time passes in fashion can sometimes feel like dog years – a lot can change in a year — and you get the sense that Maximilian has learned a lot in such a brief period of time.
Whereas when he first started, he was all about exploring the house’s archive and its links to the Golden Age of Hollywood, Maximilian’s SS24 collection was far from vintage or nostalgic — the few nods to Hitchcockian silhouettes were the no-nonsense, wasp-waisted tailoring. Instead, he brought a bit more of himself to the table, specifically his Caribbean heritage. The result was a collection that artfully combined the ease of island life with Italian sprezzatura: kaftans-like silk dresses, printed with the oversized curves of a shoe sole; leather-collared shirts with sleeves pushed up; layers of ribbed-jersey tees and tanks à la Helmut Lang; slouchy high-waisted trousers worn with sandals; crisp white cotton shirt dresses and fluid silk-jersey gowns with sculpted Tuscan-leather panels.
“I wanted things to feel a lot lighter, both in terms of fabric and construction but also in terms of how people want to dress,” Maximilian explained. One of the interesting things about his approach is that he is one of the few creative directors of his age group at a house, and yet whereas designers twice his age misjudge what his generation wants (bright colours, logos, Y2K), he is the perfect example of what so many young people actually want: great quality, unfussy clothes that simply make you look longer, leaner and more interesting (and therefore sexier). “There’s a familiarity I have found in the Italian way of dressing and living: an effortlessness which feels very Caribbean,” he added. “The idea of doing everything at your own pace, on your own time.”
While drawing parallels between the spirit of Italian and Caribbean dress codes, Maximilian found inspiration in the situated contrasts of Italy’s arte povera movement, which often positioned natural materials alongside industrial elements and elevated the everyday through careful consideration. Combined with his research into Italian marble, medieval armour, and the eighteenth-century art of Agostino Brunias, the collection felt layered in more ways than the looks with t-shirts twisted on top of each other. Emerald greens, sky blues, sandy beiges, and of course that signature red (although just one look this time), offered a sunny palette, a sign of confidence on Maximilian’s part at a time when designers seem to be doubling down on staid uniformity.
Experimentations with wooden beads, bonded linens and cottons, and sculpted leather also helped make the collection feel distinctive, bringing a bit more of an organic irreverence to the more iconographic luxe that Maximilian previously focused on. Combined with the streamlined silhouettes and Maximilian’s trademark fuss-free minimalism, this was a collection that had a pragmatic air. There were dresses, for sure, and plenty of great coats and jackets. But all in all? The collection had the air of a go-to-work uniform, even if the inspiration was far from urban life; a wardrobe in which to be prepared to tough out the situation, while looking immaculately serene. After all, we could all do with a bit of sunny-spirited fashion in our city wardrobes. Fashion to brighten up the working day.
