All WRAPPED Up

What's SO MAGICAL about a MAX MARA COAT? Why the ITALIAN label's enviable OUTERWEAR has become a bona fide OBSESSION.

- BROOKE BOBB

THIS PAST MARCH, a woman in New York uploaded a video of herself to TikTok politely but desperately trying to find out who had accidentally taken her beloved black cashmere Max Mara coat from a rack in a Chinatown salon.

The follow-up video, in which she shared security footage of the coat being removed, has racked up 1.6 million views. Many of the commenters were quick to offer messages of support, like "I bought a Max Mara coat for Xmas and it never leaves my sight. Sorry it got taken" and "Max Mara...like. Press charges" and "This gives me Carrie Bradshaw Manolos at that party."

The woman never got the coat back, but her story seemed to have a ripple effect across the social-media landscape, where Max Mara's enviable range of exquisitely crafted outerwear-a signifier of great taste, refined luxury, and real power-has become an obsession.

Max Mara has been outfitting women for more than seven - decades. The Italian label was founded by Achille Maramotti in 1951 in the northern town of Reggio Emilia with two main objectives: to make clothes that combine European tailoring techniques with those of American industrial production and to reinterpret the strong lines and detailing of men's coats for women.

In 1981, designer Anne-Marie Beretta debuted the 101801 wool-and cashmere overcoat in a rich camel hue; the piece quickly became an icon of the house, cementing Max Mara as a kind of Italian couturier for outerwear. This coat and others that have followed-impeccably cut, with intricate handwork and details, crafted from soft, supple materials-are extraordinary to touch and an almost spiritual experience to wear. The most rarefied ones are produced under Max Mara's Atelier collection, which is essentially a couture line and sold only by special order in select stores.