| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founder(s) | Achille Maramotti |
| Headquarters | Reggio Emilia, Italy |
| Number of locations | 2254 (March 2008)[1] |
| Area served | 90 countries |
| Key people | Luigi Maramotti (chairman) Laura Lusuardi (design director) |
| Products | Ready-to-wear clothing |
| Revenue | €1.2bn[1] |
| Owner(s) | Luigi, Ignazio and Ludovica Maramotti[1] |
| Website | maxmara.com |
MaxMara, or The House of MaxMara, is a luxury Italian fashion house known for its ready-to-wear clothing. Established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). By March 2008, the company had 2,254 stores in 90 countries.[1]
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Achille Maramotti began designing couture clothing in 1947, and officially established the House of Max Mara in 1951. The "Mara" came from his surname, while "Max" referred to 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.[1]
Max Mara has spawned 35 labels,[2] although Max Mara womenswear remains the core of the company. Other brands include Sportmax, Sportmax Code, Weekend Max Mara, Marella, Pennyblack, iBlues, Max & Co. (the trendy, youth division), and Marina Rinaldi. This last, founded in 1980 and named after Achille Maramotti’s great grandmother, is one of the best-known: in her obituary of Maramotti for The Independent.[3][4]
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, Ignazio and Ludovica, followed him into the business;[2] Luigi is chairman of the company. After his death, according to Maramotti's will, a large and important collection of contemporary art from Europe and America was made open to the public.[5]