Max Mara Coats! Seoul 2017

It has been an incredible journey for Max Mara, since it was founded in Reggio Emilia in 1951 by Achille Maramotti. It all began when a young man decided to take after his family’s passion in the clothing business, with an aim to create the world’s most inspired and sophisticated collections, designed specifically for women of differing ages, body shapes and lifestyles.

Maramotti took after his great grandmother, who used to manage an elegant dressmaking shop in the mid nineteenth century while his mother established a tailoring and sewing school. Combining both women’s passion, great vision and business acumen, the dressmaking shop sky-rocketed to success when it made an attempt to create a line of sophisticated garments, typically hand-crafted, with the initial idea to clothe the new middle class population; “the doctor’s wife”, an expression coined by Achille Maramotti.

When it came to Maramotti’s time, he decided to specialise in the production of coats, stylistically inspired by the most sophisticated French Haute Couture – combining a rich artistic heritage and sophisticated tailoring techniques.

Maximally Modernism: Pret-à-Porter Fashion

Fast forward to today, a new edition of Coats! was presented at the recent exhibition, which took place from Nov 29 through to Dec 12, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea. Dedicated to the Italian fashion house, Max Mara, Coats! was designed once again by Studio MIGLIORE+SERVETTO ARCHITECTS. Prior to Seoul, the luxury label has toured Moscow (2011), Beijing (2009), Tokyo (2007) and Berlin (2006).

The exhibition in Seoul was shown inside a monumental dome inspired by the utopian architecture of Étienne-Louis Boullée. With a showcase of over ninety coats from Max Mara Heritage, starting from the first ones from the 50s, the democratic coat for designers and pop from the 60s and the magic of the coat and Italian know how from the 80s to the more recent ones that walked the Milan runway, including the iconic 101801 style.

Unmistakable Identity: The Iconic 101801 Coat

The collections from Max Mara have an unmistakable style identity and are easy to detect: comfort sizes, young and innovative and coordinated look. One example of the group’s trademark pieces is the iconic 101801 coat, which was created in partnership with Anne Marie Beretta. The Coat was made of wool and cashmere with oversize kimono sleeves, became a classic fashion item that is a must-have in every winter collection.

Highlights of the Exhibition

This journey took visitors on a visionary adventure to browse through the history of the coats and of the brand as they made their ways through seven themed rooms to view a series of modern-day wunderkammer, packed with garments, sounds, memorabilia and interactive features representing the vision that moved Max Mara’s founder, Achille Maramotti: “to make the ordinary extraordinary”.

The exhibition interpreted the desires of women since 1951 right up to today, the changes in taste, society and lifestyles that have marked each decade, sketches by the designers who have worked with Max Mara such as Anne Marie Beretta, Emmanuelle Khanh, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Charles de CastelBajac, Narciso Rodriguez and Proenza Schouler, and many more.

Also a main highlight, advertising campaigns shot by legendary fashion photographers were on showcase as well, featuring Richard Avedon, Arthur Elgort, Steven Meisel, Sarah Moon, Max Vadukul, Mario Sorrenti, David Sims and Craig McDean.

Coats! Seoul: Special edition look

A special look was also designed to celebrate the new edition of Max Mara Coats! Seoul, featuring a coat in pure camel’s hair with brass colour lining, and in the same fabric, a shirt with crystal buttons and French cuffs and pencil skirt.

Korean tableware in brass colour by Yugi

Inspired by yugi, a Korean word to indicate daily used items such as bowls, plates and other serving dishes, the original tableware in brass were used by the Korean Royal Family. This dinnerware as shown above is a typical depiction of what we would use daily at dinner time. Like camel to Max Mara, yugi represents the importance of tradition and quality in Korean culture.

According to Max Mara, “This is a record that the Max Mara Group has consolidated over time through a meticulous, luxurious style that has always achieved rising success on a world-wide scale, demonstrated today in more than 2,300 stores.”

Max Mara can be seen in most famous shopping streets of metropolises such as Milan, Paris, London, Moscow, New York and Tokyo but also in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Australia, Brazil and New Caledonia.