Max Mara offers cashmere comfort when the day, or the world, goes awry

MILAN (AP) — The Max Mara woman is following her dreams and taking comfort in well-tailored cashmere in soothing monochromes when the day — or world — goes awry.

The silhouette of new collection for next fall and winter premiering during Milan Fashion Week on Thursday featured a fitted bodice flowing into big skirts and wide-legged trousers that cinched tightly at the waist. Knitwear was ribbed, anchored by provocatively thigh-high tights. Outerwear was fluid without being oversized; double belts accentuated the form. Shawl collars could be pulled up into protective hoods.

Max Mara hewed to its traditional monochromes: burgundy, black, camel and a creamy color that the brand calls cascia, for the natural color of cashmere.

Creative director Ian Griffiths said the well-tailored looks with shearling or quilted layers could be worn “to march through the moors of Yorkshire, or sleep under a bush. Although of course, this woman is more likely to be marching through the corridors of power.”

“It’s the moment where this woman who has been applying herself through cold logic to climbing the corporate ladder all these years has been denying herself this inner passion, and with the world as it is, she just has to find expression for it,’’ Griffiths said.