If forecasts are to be believed, luxe, comfort, and functionality are at the top of high-spending-customers’ post-pandemic preferences. They’ll be inclined to invest in special pieces with a timeless quality, zeroing in on a combination of longevity and style. It sounds like a good market habitat for Max Mara Atelier, a label that has been laser-focused on elevating the status of the coat from practical wardrobe staple to dramatic statement piece.
The top range of the Max Mara offering, Atelier’s tightly edited selection of fall coats will be sold only through the label’s flagship stores. What distinguishes them is not only their individual design appeal, but also their artisanal execution, with handmade finishes and meticulous details adding cachet (and a hefty price tag) to their industrial production.
Loosely referencing Arte Povera maestro Jannis Kounellis, the Atelier lineup includes coats in sculptural, chiseled shapes rendered in substantial yet supple fabrications; double cashmeres and alpacas were felted, brushed, and textured, and treated to achieve an almost granular and organic finish. Volumes had presence and character, suggesting an elegant gesture of protection. Egg-shaped and cocooning, trapeze-cut and sartorial, or kimono-shaped and clean-lined, they were given punch by a rich, organic palette inspired by Arte Povera’s materials: metal, charcoal, jute, driftwood, chalk, and briar root.
Black leather inserts hidden under collars and contrasting coal-black taffeta linings added a sharp edge to the calm, self-confident look of the collection. A black double crêpe stole was bias-cut in scalloped petals and sensuously wrapped around an impeccably cut cardi-coat; hinting subtly at Kounellis’s dark romanticism and his love of roses, it had the right blend of drama and ease—a pretty perfect combination to brush away post-pandemic malaise.