The Sportmax SS27 collection was born from the intensity of a heatwave, from the oppressive heat sweeping across the world and instilling in every creation a desire for lightness. From Milan to Venice and from Paris to Tokyo, the creative studio observed workers and people going about their daily journeys, moving through the blinding heat, drawing inspiration for the season’s contemporary, almost uniform-like archetypes, designed for the future.
Sheer tailoring, lucite accessories, gradations created through layers of translucent colour: the search for coolness runs through every silhouette. Echoing the lyrics of “Under the sun beneath the rainfall” by Logic1000, which provided the studio’s soundtrack throughout the creative process, “the real fashion show is on the street.”
Tailoring retains the memory of the classic suit, yet is redefined through pinstripe voile, viscose and wool, with open sections creating an effect of optical illusion. Bermuda shorts are concealed beneath pinstripe trousers: dressed like a businessman, stripped back to suit the season. A structured jacket is paired with a soft, rounded leg, while colour is built up in layers, like a mille-feuille.
The colour palette draws inspiration from the pearlescent hues of water seen through glass, moving from shades of grey to vivid gemstone tones. Transparency takes shape in silk organza in écru, orange and soft pink, with successive layers subtly creating new colour gradations. A vintage Venetian lace tablecloth is transformed into a print rather than an embroidery, like a shadow of the original, and placed beneath an organza trench coat that simultaneously reveals and conceals. Long belts and waistbands contain the volume of fluid silhouettes, acting as anchors for forms that seem to be searching for the slightest breeze.
Leather turns towards deconstruction: soft nappa and suede appear in a pared-back skirt, sleeveless jackets and coats with shifting panels that allow the body to breathe. Denim, treated more like flou than a conventional fabric, and trompe-l’œil suit lapels sewn flat onto the chest propose new solutions for formal summer dressing.
Sportmax was born in 1969 as a reflection of its time, a legacy the brand continues to explore through this season’s diverse, multigenerational casting.
Knitwear looks draw on the elegant cut-out swimsuits and sculptural rib techniques associated with them, introducing the idea of a spontaneous escape to the beach after work. Shoes and jewellery remain transparent throughout the collection: slides with contrasting details, pumps embellished with jewel-like elements reminiscent of ice crystals, and glass sculptures emerging from a cuff or subtly concealed beneath a fluid neckline.
The collection sheds everything the season no longer permits: restriction and opacity. What remains is a wardrobe that feels light, almost weightless, yet entirely functional. Like glassmakers working before the heat of the furnace, Sportmax harnesses heat to shape an almost impossible sense of lightness and delicate, multidimensional transparency.
