Max Mara Warms up Milan with New Top Coats
For contemporary apparel buyers lucky enough to score a ticket to the Milan fashion shows this fall, the Max Mara show was a real highlight. Already known for their stunning collections of couturier coats, the latest Mara creations are sensational in shape, style and fabric. Whisper thin models sashayed down the Mara runway, all decked out and bejeweled, but nothing stole the show more than his 17 stylish top coats.
While some designers rely on their name and dose of drama to make their shows a success, Max Mara could have done it on the strength of his designs alone. Every fabric and texture was represented too, from alpaca to tweed, camel’s hair to cashmere. Saturated colors were everywhere, like the deep red evening coat with rosettes on the collar.
The coats are beautifully shaped, with defined waistlines, A-lines and barrel-shaped styles evoking a tasteful blend of nostalgia and modernity. Max Mara is also offering a supple pair of opera-length gloves to go along with his three-quarter length sleeve coats. For wholesale fashion apparel buyers, the coats will only be available in five of the label’s US stores, but expect demand to expand the availability over time. If these coats are any inspiration to next season’s outerwear collections, a whole line of imitators will be competing for space in wholesale clothing apparel showrooms such as Fashion Spot LA.
Max Mara’s chief designer, Laura Lusuardi can be very proud of the attention this new line has received in Milan. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this collection was the hand-finished silk linings, each completely done in Max Mara’s factories. While this may not seem extraordinary to some, it is quite a bit more expensive to do this in-house, which is a testament to the financial health of the company.