COATS! Max Mara, 55 Years of Italian Fashion

This special exhibition of the Kunstbibliothek is the first to present the history of Max Mara, the internationally known fashion company from Italy, in previously unpublished material from the company’s own comprehensive archive. Max Mara was founded in 1951 by Achille Maramotti and is today run by his sons Luigi and Ignazio and daughter Maria Ludovica. It is recognised world-wide as a fashion company that offers the highest quality and design. Due to a realistic approach to the fashion market, Max Mara equally accounts for perfection in the tailoring process on an industrial level, and for a highly professional distribution system and brand communication. 
 
Max Mara is one of the oldest and most renowned fashion companies of the “Made in Italy”. Specialised in high-quality ladies’ wear, the Max Mara Fashion Group now designs and produces over two dozen collections for the international market each season. The exhibition – offering a journey through the world of Italian fashion – highlights the company’s two main collections, Max Mara (from 1951) and Sportmax (from 1969). Next to the in-house design team: well-known fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Charles de Castelbajac, Luciano Soprani, Guy Paulin or Anne-Marie Beretta executed designs for Max Mara. The coat has been chosen as the focus: the wool and cashmere coats of the classic Max Mara label are displayed alongside the sporty coats and costumes of the Sportmax design collection. The exhibition not only includes around sixty original coats and other garments as well as numerous design and collection sketches, but also addresses the subject of picture communication. Among the many fashion photographs on display are pictures by Sarah Moon, Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel und other important photographers.