Hailey Baldwin, the new Mrs Bieber, fronts the campaign images for Nantucket – the Weekend Max Mara collection created in collaboration with American interior designer Anthony Baratta. Launched first as a casual outdoors weekend collection in 1983, Weekend Max Mara is now a specific brand within the popular Max Mara family of labels, a byword for exceptional tailoring and quality.I first came across Max Mara at Brown Thomas on Grafton Street, where it does a fine business in luxurious cashmere coats, both belted and ʙuттoned. The popularity of its double-faced wool transseasonal coats in subtle summer colours are always appealing, and now that winter has pᴀssed, it’s time to think about good weather and holidays.
The Nantucket collection is nautical with a twist, infused with striking prints and cuts in glorious cottons and inspired by America’s most beloved summertime destination. And if you have a thing about blue and white porcelain prints, you will undoubtedly be smitten as they are featured throughout. The man behind it, Anthony Baratta, is one of the most celebrated interior designers of the day with a global following and is known for his bold use of colour and scale that honours tradition while defying predictability. His design work has graced over 50 magazine covers worldwide.
Stars in the collection include full-skirted sleeveless dresses with an attractive pᴀssementerie rick-rack trim (top right). There’s a flowing mid-calf length circular skirt printed with a delicate rose motif sitting elegantly on micro gingham checks. The stand-out lemon yellow trousers (above) feature lovingly rendered illustrations of Baratta’s own furniture designs. Whimsical Chinoiserie prints, cheeky nautical motifs, stately colonial antiques and effervescent florals are calling cards of the designer’s vaunted work.
A striking duster coat is decorated with white and blue Chinese porcelain vases, a singular love of Baratta’s. A similar motif is carried over to an oversized white shirt with striking border. Weekend Max Mara boasts a very useful formal-informality feel or, as they call it on Cape Cod, “utility de luxe”, a growing trend on runway shows.
