Max Mara keeps 70s vibe rocking in Milan

Max Mara kept the 1970s vibe grooving in Milan on Thursday with a collection inspired by the unconventional looks and style of two of the decade's most influential actresses.

British creative director Ian Griffiths took his cue from images of Anjelica Huston in Max Mara's own 1971 campaign and the French actress Dominique Sanda in Oscar-winning "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" (1970) to forge a collection rich in micro-floral and geometric prints.

Calfskin coats, figure-hugging dresses and even some of the platform-heeled boots all got the vibrant print treatment.

As with Gucci's 2015 spring/summer show 24 hours earlier, waists were accentuated throughout, notably in military blousons, summer trench coats and voluminous, ankle-length skirts in the sheer, ultralight crepe fabric known as Georgette.

With all the catwalk models sporting floppy, beach-style "cloche" hats it was a collection that also evoked Diane Keaton's character in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" - one of cinema's benchmarks for the quirky, independent femininity that Griffiths was seeking to infuse into the new collection.