The Exhibitionists

La dolce vita meets art-world edge at Max Maras Collezione Maramotti, the museum that hosted and inspired the houses latest resort collection.

- Veronique Hyland

In the traffic rotary of a small city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy stands a towering statue of a block of cheese. What might seem like a wacky attraction is actually a tribute to one of the region’s best-known exports: Parmigiano-Reggiano. Along with Parma ham and balsamic vinegar—not to mention Ducatis and Ferraris—the delicacy is one of the area’s beloved treasures.

Add to that list Max Mara, the Italian label founded in 1951 by Achille Maramotti. It’s in these sleepy environs that he launched the house whose name would become synonymous with the quintessential camel coat, and it’s here that the brand is now unveiling a resort collection inspired by the national ideal of la bella figura, which loosely means “being well put-together.” “The ethos of this part of Italy is about striving to the highest possible standard,” says Ian Griffiths, the house’s creative director. “It runs central to the core of the Max Mara philosophy: making things as well as they can possibly be made. Like a cheese or ham, the quality is absolutely guaranteed.”