Max Mara
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| Max Mara | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founder | Achille Maramotti |
| Headquarters | Reggio Emilia, Italy |
| No. of locations | 2254 (March 2008)[1] |
| Area served | 90 countries |
| Key people | Luigi Maramotti (chairman) Laura Lusuardi (design director) |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Products | Ready-to-wear clothing |
| Revenue | €1.2bn[1] |
| Owner | Luigi, Ignacio and Ludovica Maramotti[1] |
| Website | www.maxmarafashion.com |
Max Mara, or The House of Max Mara, is an Italian fashion house. It is best known for elegant, wearable ready-to-wear clothing.
Contents |
[edit] History
Achille Maramotti began designing couture clothing in 1947, and officially established the House of Max Mara in 1951. The "Mara" came from his surname, "Max" came from Count Max, a local character who was seldom sober but always stylish.[2] Maramotti was one of the first to see that the future of fashion lay in the mass production of designer-quality clothes. He was also keen to emphasise the brand of Max Mara ahead of the names of individual designers, even though he employed future big names such as Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Dolce & Gabbana and Narciso Rodriguez. The company remains in the hands of the family and they like to maintain a veil of secrecy about the activities of the company, they don't even maintain a website. As of March 2008, the company had 2,254 stores in 90 countries.[1]
[edit] Brands
Max Mara has spawned 35 labels,[2] although Max Mara womenswear remains the core of the company. Other brands include Marella, Sportmax, Pennyblack and Marina Rinaldi; the latter is a plus-size label named after Maramotti's great-grandmother.[2] The trendy, youth division is called Max & Co.
[edit] Family
Achille Maramotti was born on January 7, 1927 in Reggio Emilia in Italy.[2] Maramotti was educated in Rome and received a law degree from University of Parma. According to Forbes Rich List of 2005, Maramotti was one of the world's richest men with a fortune of US$2.1 billion.[2] He was a great patron of the arts, with a great love of the Expressionists, and was also a big investor in Italian banks.
He died in Albinea, Italy 12 January 2005.[2] Maramotti's two sons and daughter, Luigi, Ignacio and Ludovica, followed him into the business;[2] Luigi is chairman of the company.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b c d Ashworth, Anne, “MaxMara: A store that's always maximally stylish”, The Times (London), 2008-03-14, <http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article3547053.ece>. Retrieved on 9 April 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g Barbieri, Annalisa, “Tycoon who pioneered 'off the peg' designer clothes with his fashion label MaxMara”, The Independent (London), 2005-01-24, <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/achille-maramotti-488030.html>. Retrieved on 9 April 2008
