Fashion career profile
Ian Griffiths
Ian Griffiths is a British fashion designer and Creative Director of Max Mara. He studied architecture in Manchester before moving into fashion and completing an MA in Fashion Design at the Royal College of Art in 1987. A Max Mara student design competition led to his joining the company as a designer after graduation. He has spent more than three decades at the Italian house, building an unusually long relationship between a designer and one fashion organization. Griffiths became Creative Director in 2009; the earlier designer position should not be represented as the same title or as having begun in 1987. His work is closely associated with the house’s modern approach to outerwear and with translating its established codes for successive generations. The profile distinguishes his sourced early design role from his current creative leadership, and records his education and long tenure as connected career milestones.
- Role
- Creative Director, Max Mara
- Nationality
- British
- Age
- 64
- Career appointments
- 2
- Fashion houses
- 1
- Ian Griffiths Makes Max Mara Dangerously PracticalThe Impression · 2026-09-24
- Max Mara Spring 2027: Make Yourself UsefulWWD · 2026-09-24
- Max MaraThe Impression · 2026-09-20
- Education: MA Fashion Design, Royal College of Art (1987)He first studied architecture in Manchester before moving into fashion. · Royal College of Art
- Joined Max Mara: 1987, as a designerA Max Mara competition at the RCA led to his first role with the company. · Royal College of Art
- Creative Director: Max Mara, since 2009The appointment as Creative Director followed his earlier design role at the house. · Le Monde
- House tenure: More than 30 years at Max MaraThe RCA profile describes his long relationship with the house. · Royal College of Art
- 1987 — Graduates from the Royal College of Art and joins Max MaraA student competition led to his first design role with the house.
- 2009 — Becomes Creative Director of Max MaraThe appointment followed his earlier work as a designer at the company.
- 2021 — Marks more than three decades at Max MaraThe RCA profile documents a tenure exceeding 30 years.
- 2009–Present — Creative Director — Max MaraCurrent appointment · Le Monde
- 1987–2008 — Designer — Max MaraHistorical appointment · Royal College of Art