Milan’s beautiful Rotonda della Besana sits on a site that was a pauper’s cemetery for centuries, before later becoming a hospital. That history made it the perfect location for this morning’s show from Sportmax, a label that has felt deathly for several seasons yet today appeared miraculously recovered.
Founded in 1969 and showing since 1976, Sportmax was originally an Italian reaction to the shift in tastes sparked by London’s youthquake and the retail of Carnaby Street. This collection and its show’s long bench of dressed-by-Sportmax guests made you suspect the brand was reacting to another twist in our social relationship with clothing.
The press notes asserted the collection as a product of “hyper-reinvention—where the ordinary becomes extraordinary.” Very extra was the abundance of fringing that jittered from sleeves, hems, and even bags. The collars on a cracked shearling jacket and pale leather dress were pulled up extra high. Boots came with extra slouchy undulations of leather, and were sometimes cut extra-extra high. Faux shearling wraps and a dress were indented with croco pattern for extra luxe, and two further faux fur coats were extra volumized. Details included the S hardware on cute foldover handbags and the handsome extra layers of folded fabric that adorned multiple looks.
All this extraness looked great for the ’gram. It was also extra satisfying to see Sportmax recover some swagger after enduring such a poor run of form.
