Max Mara

MaxMara

Type	Private
Industry	Fashion
Founded	1951
Founder	Achille Maramotti
Headquarters	Reggio Emilia, Italy
Number of locations	2254 (March 2008)
Area served	90 countries
Key people	Luigi Maramotti (chairman) Laura Lusuardi (design director)
Products	Ready-to-wear clothing
Revenue	€1.2bn
Owner	Luigi, Ignazio and Ludovica Maramotti
Website	Official website

Max Mara is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2,254 stores in 90 countries. It sponsors the Max Mara Art Prize for Women.

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. 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.

Max Mara has spawned 35 labels, 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.

As of July 17, 2013, Jennifer Garner is the first celebrity spokesperson for Max Mara.

Starting in September 2013, the campaign appears in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, W, InStyle, The New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune.