In almost exactly six months, on 10 December, the Blue Hall of the Stockholm City Hall will host the banquet in honor of the next Nobel Prize winners as usual. Meanwhile, on Sunday evening, that marble floor was crossed by the show of the Resort 2024 collection by Max Mara, inspired by Selma Lagerlöf, the writer who was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize, in 1909. An icon of modernity, with which the creative director Ian Griffiths interpreted the desire to propose a contemporary style that has characterized the Emilian brand since its birth in 1951: Achille Maramotti had intuition that post-war Italian women needed suitable clothes to live the new promises and together the complexities of modern life.
«What makes me most proud of our history is that we have always looked at the lives of women and offer real, believable objects – explains Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti, Achille’s granddaughter and brand ambassador of the family business -. Today a woman does many things and must feel good on every occasion, with quality proposals that last, classic but versatile, without being immobile». The encounter between iconicity and contemporaneity also characterizes Scandinavian design, another theme that inspired the collection designed by Griffiths, graphic and essential in the alternation of black and white: «For a creative the most difficult lesson to learn is to design things that are so full of intellectual meanings, but also simple», he notes. And ultimately, wearable. To such an extent that, designed for women, those creations are increasingly worn by men as well: «Some of our managers love to wear one of our iconic coats, the 101801 – continues Prezioso Maramotti -. This too is interpreting the contemporary, proposing increasingly fluid garments, with lines that can be worn without limits. And even if we don’t have a men’s collection on the agenda right now, what interests us and where we will aim is to develop this approach cross gender as part of our evolution.”
Max Mara, contemporary fashion in Stockholm
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A challenge that the Emilian company continues to successfully interpret, having also taken up the challenge of the transition between generations: «The transition between those who have been there before and those who will come after is the great theme of family businesses like ours – he notes – . Only by investing in governance can its value be maintained, and I mean value, not wealth. We are taking care and will continue to take care of managerialisation, the structure of the decision-making process. In a complex moment like this, you cannot be a know-it-all».
The numbers of Max Mara also tell us that this is the right path: a turnover of over 1.7 billion in 2022, with exports at 61% and a widespread presence in over 100 countries around the world through 2,500 stores, a key element in group strategy. «Digital is certainly fundamental, but the store experience cannot be replicated – continues the manager -. Indeed, I believe that the shop is one of our most important means of communication today, as is the factory. For a long time they were kept almost hidden, but today they have a new centrality, both because companies have resumed investing in the value of the supply chain, and to better convey the value of their brand. For example, we like to take some of our customers to visit our headquarters in Reggio Emilia or the Manifatture di San Maurizio, where we produce our coats. Places where centrality is also restored to another value, that of work».
It is reality, linked to manufacturing, which meets projects and aspirations, a bit like Lagerlöf herself interpreted daily life with the eyes of the imagination. Experimenting, thinking about the future, has led Max Mara on an unprecedented path, which starts right from Stockholm: for three weeks the Hallwylska Restaurant will be “dressed” with the themes that inspired the Resort collection. «Exploring the concept of lifestyle interests us a lot – adds Prezioso Maramotti -. With this connotation we are also preparing the celebration of the 10th anniversary of our Teddy coat (another symbol of the brand, ndrnext December). When in Stockholm, in the hall that hosted the fashion show, the next Nobel winners will sit. Also reward yourself for imagining the future.