Milan Fashion Week: Max Mara takes inspired by Queen’s off-duty wardrobe for 70th anniversary show

Padded jackets, headscarves and sturdy leather brogues have long been staple items of the Queen’s off-duty wardrobe.

Now Her Majesty’s countryside chic has made it onto the catwalk, having inspired Italian fashion house Max Mara’s 70th anniversary ‘platinum jubilee’ show in Milan.

Presenting its autumn/winter 2021 collection via a virtual runway staged at the Trienalle design museum, models were decked out in heritage country style heavy tweed, fur coats, over-sized cardigans, calf-length kilts and Tattersall check in a nod to the royal, with a modern twist.

Headscarves were a prominent accessory, as were thick woolly socks and chunky leather shoes featuring prominent buckles – the kind of attire often sported by the Queen at Balmoral, Sandringham or the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

The Queen’s countryside chic has made it onto the catwalk, having inspired Italian fashion house Max Mara’s 70th anniversary ‘platinum jubilee’ show in Milan (pictured)

Padded jackets, headscarves and sturdy brogues have long been staple items of the Queen's off-duty wardrobe (pictured in 1990 at the Royal Windsor Horse Show)

Padded jackets, headscarves and sturdy brogues have long been staple items of the Queen’s off-duty wardrobe (pictured in 1990 at the Royal Windsor Horse Show)

Max Mara’s creative director Ian Griffiths chose the royal as his muse after spending last year’s lockdown at home in Suffolk binge-watching The Crown.

Her favoured prints and choice of outerwear blend seamlessly with Max Mara’s classic style, seen here in the form of khaki green cashmere trench coats (a re-working of its famous camel version), quilted gilets and capes.

According to Griffiths, this platinum jubilee collection of city-meets-outdoor wear was inspired by the monarch for today’s self-made queens.

‘Without disrespect to Her Majesty and all the images of her on formal occasions when she wears those brightly coloured matching clothes,’ he told Vogue, ‘I ended up saving all the images of her in her own time.

Max Mara's creative director Ian Griffiths chose the royal as his muse after spending last year's lockdown at home in Suffolk binge-watching The Crown (pictured: a model in the show)

Max Mara's creative director Ian Griffiths chose the royal (pictured in King's Lynn in December 2018) as his muse after spending last year's lockdown at home in Suffolk binge-watching The Crown

 Max Mara’s creative director Ian Griffiths chose the royal (pictured right in King’s Lynn in December 2018) as his muse after spending last year’s lockdown at home in Suffolk binge-watching The Crown

Presenting its autumn/winter 2021 collection via a virtual runway staged at the Trienalle design museum, models were decked out in heavy tweed, fur coats, over-sized cardigans, calf-length kilts and Tattersall check, all with a modern twist on their heritage country style

Presenting its autumn/winter 2021 collection via a virtual runway staged at the Trienalle design museum, models were decked out in heavy tweed, fur coats, over-sized cardigans, calf-length kilts and Tattersall check, all with a modern twist on their heritage country style

According to Griffiths, this platinum jubilee collection of city-meets-outdoor wear was inspired by the monarch for today's self-made queens

According to Griffiths, this platinum jubilee collection of city-meets-outdoor wear was inspired by the monarch for today's self-made queens

According to Griffiths, this platinum jubilee collection of city-meets-outdoor wear was inspired by the monarch for today’s self-made queens

The Queen pictured in a quilted jacket and silk headscarf at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2006

The Queen at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2017

The Queen pictured left in a quilted jacket and silk headscarf at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2006, and right watching the cross country section of the carriage driving at the event in 2017

Griffiths said he wanted to channel the feeling of feeling completely at home in your clothes in the collection

Griffiths said he wanted to channel the feeling of feeling completely at home in your clothes in the collection

To ensure his collection passed the Balmoral test, Griffiths told how he studied the dress codes of the British aristocracy (pictured: models wore quilted capes and sturdy shoes)

To ensure his collection passed the Balmoral test, Griffiths told how he studied the dress codes of the British aristocracy (pictured: models wore sturdy shoes)

To ensure his collection passed the Balmoral test, Griffiths told how he studied the dress codes of the British aristocracy (pictured: models wearing quilted capes and sturdy shoes)

‘You can understand that this is what she likes to wear: a kilt and a wax jacket. It shows a woman who’s completely at home in what she’s wearing. I wanted to channel the feeling of feeling completely at home in your clothes.’

Some of the most memorable scenes in the latest series of The Crown take place at Balmoral, where Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is seen turning up with a completely impractical wardrobe consisting of dresses, suits and court heels.

By contrast, Lady Diana Spencer ‘only packed outdoor shoes’ and teamed them with knitwear and trousers.

To ensure his collection passed the Balmoral test, Griffiths told how he studied the dress codes of the British aristocracy – and took inspiration from the young Princess of Wales, who took ballet lessons at the Royal School round the corner from where he studied at the Royal College of Art.

Her Majesty's favoured prints and choice of outerwear blend seamlessly with Max Mara's classic style, seen here in the form of khaki green cashmere trench coats (a re-working of its famous camel version), quilted gilets and headscarves. Pictured: the Queen at Balmoral in May 2019

Her Majesty’s favoured prints and choice of outerwear blend seamlessly with Max Mara’s classic style, seen here in the form of khaki green cashmere trench coats (a re-working of its famous camel version), quilted gilets and headscarves. Pictured: the Queen at Balmoral in May 2019

Models don patterned headscarves during the Max Mara Fall/Winter 2021-2022 show during Milan Fashion Week yesterday

Models don patterned headscarves during the Max Mara Fall/Winter 2021-2022 show during Milan Fashion Week yesterday

Models don patterned headscarves during the Max Mara Fall/Winter 2021-2022 show during Milan Fashion Week yesterday

‘She would get out of her car at the same time the fashion students would go down to have coffee. 

‘Sometimes we’d see her every day for a while, and she’d say hello. She was lovely,’ he told Vogue.

‘We also had to send our sketches to Kensington Palace sometimes for her to look at, to see if she liked anything. 

‘She never took anything, but she loved fashion and fashion students so much. She was interested in what we were doing.’