Sportmax Spring 2023 Fashion Show recap
Sportmax takes a psychedelic trip down the rabbit hole
By Angela Baidoo
A symphony of tousled decadence, this year’s version of the Sportmax woman was the perfect mix of buttoned up or perfectly unfurled.
It’s a fashion-driven celebration of outrageous creativity and the concept of CAMP, an aesthetic style grounded in excess, irony and the breaking of social norms
– sports max
This season we’ve seen how simplicity can be subverted to great effect, as the brand invited us to “embrace dualisms and mix the strange with the familiar”. Sportmax experimented with shapes that comfortably pushed boundaries – button plackets were distorted to appear unconventional (a nod to how a child might dress) with the result being a lesson in artful deconstruction, slip dresses and lingerie layers literally falling off Bodies to create a doubled look and billowing puffball skirts battled for dominance over 1950s-style A-line skirts. Far simpler for everyday excess were the ultra-thin chocolate and purple single-breasted breasts, with extended sleeves also seen over car coats, knitted maxi dresses and asymmetric jersey tops (some of which trotted down the runway) to complement the balance game that can be seen throughout the collection.
A touch of liquified neon green – a strong contender for the color of the season if there ever was one – electrified the senses and added a new dimension to clothing for the modern occasion. Directional splits meant spiky sequins adorning crop tops, ultra crop tops and a fishtail skirt – a silhouette that must have been pinned on both Max Mara and Sportmax mood boards. While the relaxed satin tailored suit is not for the faint of heart, it would make a welcome change as a statement choice within the party wear ranges. Soft lilac tones were also evident throughout checkerboard patterns, lace trims and knitted knits. We can thank the influence of several color authorities who are endorsing shades of purple as the “It” color for 2022 for their creative, curious and expressive qualities.
This collection traverses the decades, spanning the 1950s (ladylike silhouettes), 1960s (space-age style), and 1990s (cyberpunk counterculture influences), while maintaining a cohesive thread of color and print. Psychedelic spot graphics evoked both the psychedelic sixties and the posters promoting the illegal raves of the early nineties. Jersey tube skirts paired with ruffled tank tops, oversized graphic sweatshirts and baby tees, and satin pencil skirts that wouldn’t look out of place on an underground club night were issued here as streetwear reimagined ‘under the guise of evening wear’.
Prints emphasize the theme of sensory stimulation through psychedelic motifs
sports max
One of Milan Fashion Week’s bolder collections, we anticipate a new generation spanning the “sugarpunk, psycho-chic and techno-couture universes”.
