The fashion of doing well

Since 1951, when it was established by Achille Maramotti, the House has practically accompanied the unfolding of women’s fashion over the years, acclaimed from the start for the refined style of its apparel and the quality of its textiles. The Group is now present on the market with thirty lines, different in terms of looks and consumer target. The ace up the House’s sleeve is without a doubt its fashion director, Laura Lusuardi. We asked her to speak of her role and of the House, and above all of her commitment to making good apparel that also looks good.

At Max Mara, the Fashion Coordinator is practically in charge of the collection. From textile scouting and selection to apparel design – where it’s important never to be out of touch with the stylists – right up to presentation of the collection to the sales network, it’s very much an on-the-ball, running-the-gauntlet job. There are a lot of people doing a lot of different things that need to be held together so that everything runs smoothly and in the same direction; it’s very important never to lose sight of the end result one’s aiming for.

Professionally, I can say I practically grew up in Max Mara. I started out back in 1964 and after working up from the ranks I was put in charge of the Group’s trendiest line, Sportmax, in 1967. Some time after, I was promoted Max Mara Fashion Coordinator.

Unpretentiousness, eagerness, inquisitiveness have always been and continue to be the driving forces of my professional growth. There are special schools nowadays, like the Max Mara- and Giulia Maramotti Foundation-sponsored courses that train to become fashion coordinators, providing the basics for anyone wishing to undertake the profession. But it’s through a lot of field work and the keenness to learn that one can truly make the grade.

After being at it for so many years, I still love my job. Take away the excesses that sometimes mar the fashion world and what’s left is a lot of stimulating creativity.

The Max Mara name easily evokes fine fashion and aesthetic pleasure, be it for the wearer or admirer of a designer-made item of apparel bearing the label. Look, after all, is what is most conspicuous in any fashion process. But there’s more to a window display or a fashion show than what meets the eye. There are strict rules to go by and much cogitation that only a well oiled system can achieve. What do you think?

Working to a master-plan is deemed essential for fashion-making at Max Mara. Even inventiveness and creativity are seen as process-based. It’s not the brainstorm of an individual working in a vacuum what counts. Inventiveness and creativity acquire added value in the production process and as such involve a wide range of experts with different skills and talents. It’s a joint venture involving textile scouts, designers, production, marketing and communications experts, mutually exchanging their know-how. That’s what we mean when speaking of resourceful entrepreneurship.

Growing up in an up and coming firm, such as you did, undoubtedly leads to becoming progressively resourceful along with the company. But how much of this growth depends on one’s own resources or on milieu, on a work environment’s many prompts and challenges?

A company like Max Mara is without doubt a hotbed for personal inventiveness and creativity. It’s given me the opportunity, for instance, of working frontal-lobe to frontal-lobe with such world master stylists as Emmanuelle Kahn, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Charles de Castelbajac and Anne Marie Beretta, not to speak of the many young and bright talents from internationally renowned schools of design, like Kingston College and the Royal College of Art. What’s essential for inventiveness and creativity to stay alive, though, is to always keep an open mind, to travel and read widely, to always be inquisitive, earnest and eager.

What sort of future do you see for Italian fashion? What sort of attitude will it have towards changing social trends characterised by increasing awareness towards relevant issues and concern for the environment?

Women today exhibit greater self-awareness and deeper concern for the big issues of the day, such as environment protection, than ever before. I think this points to a strong desire for a quality lifestyle. The challenge to Italian fashion is hence to respond to this need with high-quality products, both in terms of materials and design.

Interview with Laura Lusuardi, Fashion Coordinator MAX MARA.