Max Mara was founded in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy in 1951 by Achille Maramotti — a lawyer by training who had a clear vision for what Italian women wanted to wear. The brand was among the first luxury houses to introduce industrialised ready-to-wear production in Italy, which gave it an unusual combination of quality-crafted garments at a scale that made genuine luxury accessible. The label is best known internationally for the 101801 camel coat — one of the most copied garments in fashion history and the result of meticulous collaboration between Maramotti and tailoring experts over decades. That coat, and the broader principle it represents — that a garment should be technically perfect, quietly confident, and designed to be worn for decades — is still the guiding philosophy behind the entire collection. Today Max Mara operates as part of the MaxMara Fashion Group, which also owns Marina Rinaldi, Sportmax, and several other labels. The main Max Mara line targets women who want to dress elegantly without being trend-driven. Its Bicester Village boutique stocks past-season pieces from the main collection.