
Interview with Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti
By staging annual cruise shows, Max Mara has smartly positioned itself alongside the ultimate luxury marques like Dior or Louis Vuitton—whose show this year was in Avignon—even though its annual turnover is between one-fifth and one-tenth of those two French labels. That said, the Max Mara Group amassed annual sales in excess of €1.9 billion last year, so it is still a significant player.
While in Naples, the house organized private viewings in the city's famed Archaeological Museum; tours of remarkable churches; and a cruise to Lo Scoglio, the must-see restaurant near Positano — famed for a clientele that ranges from the Arnault family and Tommy Hilfiger to Remo Ruffini and endless movie stars. There was also a dinner in Bersagliera restaurant in the beautiful port of Santa Lucia, where Neapolitan musicians had Paltrow, assorted influencers and the occasional dashing editor on their feet in a conga line, banging tambourines to tunes like 'Volare' or 'Bella Ciao.'
This is why Fashion Network sat down with Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti, the third generation of the Maramotti family and granddaughter of founder Achille Maramotti.
Today, Maria Giulia is the omnichannel retail director of Max Mara Fashion Group and global brand ambassador of the brand – demanding positions she holds down with aplomb, while still bringing up a three-year-old daughter. So, here is her take on cruise, Naples, transitioning control from one generation to another, and what's next for Max Mara.
Fashion Network: Why are we in Naples?
Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti: As you know, we began this tradition of resort collections seven years ago. The idea is a mix of what our creative director, Ian Griffiths, wants to say and whether we want to do that in Italy or not. There's an element of celebrating lifestyle, which is very particular – not just in Italy but especially in Neapolitan culture, where roughness and reality contrast with great beauty in a fashion moment that is rather unique. When fashion is going back to tailoring, which is the basis of our brand. Plus, we wanted to show a city that is becoming more and more a destination for tourism and culture. It has become much safer than it used to be. Lots of people visit – with daily flights from New York and places like Canada or Philadelphia. The city has never been busier.
FN: Why is cruise so important to Max Mara?
MGPM: For many reasons. The phenomenon was born out of the idea of creating an experience of full immersion in the brand. It's one thing to do a show back-to-back with other brands in Milan, when editors are overloaded. So, instead of just 20 minutes to consider a show, you have about 48 hours to understand the brand. And you have more time to talk about product — a main driver for a brand like Max Mara.
FN: I was struck when you explained that, in Naples alone, your group has nine stores. What's the secret behind this great love affair between a northern Italian brand and the great capital of southern Italy?
MGPM: Naples is a city that serves as a reference point for the whole of southern Italy. People from the provinces use Naples, as it's a bigger market than you think. So, we have many labels – like Max Mara Weekend and Max & Co. – serving different market segments, either in city-center freestanding stores or in Pompei Mall.
FN: You also displayed the Atelier collection in Naples in a beach club. It has remarkable couture-level coats – the leitmotif of your brand. Why is it here, and what is the thinking behind this special project?
MGPM: Our Atelier collection is like a development lab when it comes to recruiting new fabrics. Laura Lusuardi, who oversees it, has worked with many different designers at Max Mara, like Karl Lagerfeld or Giambattista Valli. Plus, Atelier allows her to recruit talent internally. It's a collection focused on creating the next shapes and offering the freedom to explore different materials and fabrics. It's a smaller collection, with less commercial pressure, and that is important. We sell it in our main flagships, and we practice stock rotation — bringing it to a store for two weeks and then moving it to another. It's our couture meets ready-to-wear.
Laura has been the rainmaker of another key project – our archive. It started as her passion for vintage. But then we built our new HQ in our hometown of Reggio Emilia, and we realized how many pieces we had. And the archive became a great guide to research and cultural relevance. After that, people began donating stuff – me, Laura, Franca Sozzani or Carine Roitfeld, who donated great looks. It's a blend of this and purchases made at markets or auctions, along with the Max Mara archive of all our collections.
FN: Three years ago, you became a mum with Mariasole, and last year, you launched the Max & Co. kids line. I've seen you describe Max & Co. as the enfant terrible of your group. So, tell us more about that project?
MGPM: If you look at our kids collection, it's an enfant terrible — with a little rebellion, but not too much. And my daughter is the muse. It's a license with Brave Kids, part of Only the Brave, and we are very happy with it.
FN: Apparently, your daughter is obsessed with fashion. Were you like that as a child? Do you see your daughter taking over one day?
MGPM: I was definitely obsessed with clothes as a kid, and I am still as a woman. Honestly, I don't know what Mariasole will want to do. The key thing is I'd like for her to find her own way.
FN: Last October, you received the Design Heritage Award from Fashion Group International in New York. How important is it that Max Mara gets these sorts of recognitions?
MGPM: It was a great acknowledgment, which we really appreciated. In an industry where longevity is a little undervalued and there is so much change, we represent the ability to maintain a certain continuity.
FN: If your grandfather, Achille Maramotti – who founded Max Mara in 1951 – were around today, what would he think of the group's growth and story?
MGPM: My grandfather passed when I was 21. I think he would have been very proud of what his children have achieved, primarily and proud that his grandkids are now part of that. He believed in maintaining things of a certain quality, making garments with carefully chosen, great fabrics. He was not someone who was nostalgic at all — he was happiest when looking at contemporary fashion. So, I think he would be very happy.
FN: Often, handing over a family business to the next generation can be tricky. Why do you think that Italians seem to handle that better?
MGPM: Two reasons – Italians don't look at fashion as primarily part of the financial world. Italian entrepreneurs are all about obsession with products. That comes from close proximity to their companies, which means they can choose good partners to make very good products. They know their company extremely well, as they are very present. Of course, when you get to a certain dimension, you need to add outside management, but as you know your company inside out, you can usually choose pretty well.
Secondly, as a lot of Italian companies are family-run, your parents teach you a lot. You live and breathe the company, and that is something you cannot teach. Of course, there have been a lot of great Italian brands bought by French giants, but quite a lot of us are still independent!
MGPM: The answer is that it's very difficult to create really great women's fashion, so we are going to stick to what we know. As for hotels, let's say we are a little more conservative than our colleagues and won't go there. But we did sign a license with Shiseido last year and will have a great new scent next year. So, stay tuned.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Ukrainian man arrested over Nord Stream blasts in 2022
03:06 21/08/2025 'Power of the regulator: Holding platforms to account when they potentially violate national laws' France 21/08/2025 Anti-war protest in Gaza City as Israel prepares offensive 21/08/2025 French music festival Rock en Seine kicks off in Paris 21/08/2025 Firefighters struggle to contain wildfires in Spain and Portugal 21/08/2025 Ukraine: Largest Russian strikes in weeks as peace efforts drag on 21/08/2025 How did the rooster become a symbol of France? France 21/08/2025 Y Mekelberg: With Gaza escalation, Israel risks 'sacrificing hostages and its standing in the world' Middle East 21/08/2025 NATO weighs Ukraine security guarantees amid peace talks 21/08/2025 CHAN 2025: Three hosts, three teams through to quarters


Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Will flying outside the EU subject French to stricter tax audits?
In a much-watched TikTok video, a French-speaking presenter claims that, as soon as a person boards an aeroplane from France to a country outside the European Union, they are signing up for an automatic tax audit upon their return. It is not clarified who exactly would be affected. "Starting on 1 September 2025, every traveller leaving the EU will be systematically reported to the French tax authorities via a new procedure," the author of the video states. The system is referred to by the author as the DVAD (Dispositif de vérification automatique des déplacements, or Automatic Travel Verification System). The video claims the measure was introduced by the French Interior Ministry and announced by reputable French media BFM TV and Le Parisien, which reportedly said passport data will be cross-checked with income declarations and bank transactions upon return. If a discrepancy is detected between a person's lifestyle and their tax forms, they will "receive a summons within 30 days to justify their income". Failing to do so could lead to a €10,000 fine, an immediate tax adjustment, and loss of benefits. Those most targeted would be those who "hide cash"—"fraudsters stashing cash in Dubai or Morocco"; however, the author said even people on holiday will be affected. It then cites franceinfo, saying the well-known media organisation reported that more than 12 million French people could potentially be affected each year. The video, which has been viewed 1.5 million times, was posted on the TikTok account PassionMondialeFR. In the comments section, outrage prevails. "Welcome to the new North Korea," one person said. Another user commented: "The next step is to give each person a counter to see how many hours they have breathed." Others argued the state didn't have the right to gather data in this way. However, the allegations made in this video are completely false. No official announcements No such measures have been announced by the Ministry of the Interior. Euroverify scoured its recent announcements, as well as those made on other ministry websites, and found no information related to these claims. This false measure has also not been reported on by the French media cited in the video, nor by any other media organisation. Additionally, were such a measure to be introduced, it is unlikely it would come from the Ministry of the Interior. While it does oversee the National Directorate of Border Police (DNPAF), it has no jurisdiction over tax matters. Tax matters and audits are, instead, the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. More specifically, they fall under the Directorate-General of Public Finances (DGFIP), which is the only authority competent for this type of measure in France. The Ministry of Economics and Finance, commonly referred to as Bercy in France, confirmed to Euroverify that the claims were incorrect and that the country has not introduced these measures. Additional proof can be found that the claims would not be legitimate when looking at other content shared by the same PassionMondialeFR account. Several videos feature AI-generated presenters. This was confirmed by AI detection tools. This trend of spreading fake news by using anchors who appear to have the same enthusiasm, energy and diction as real newsreaders, but are actually AI-generated, is becoming more widespread. Meanwhile, other videos published on the TikTok account claim that shopping for over €100 will have to be justified by low-income households, and that people in France can no longer withdraw more than €200 in cash per week without being automatically registered with the authorities. Online searches again showed that these are non-existent laws. Still, such messages are shared almost daily, and while some videos are watched a few thousand times, others have several hundred thousand or even over a million views.


Local France
6 hours ago
- Local France
10 ways to shush someone in French
If you need to tell a noisy neighbour to lower the volume or request that a child be quiet - or conversely if you are being a little too loud and receive a telling off - there are a variety of polite and less-polite phrases for that in French. Chut - The French equivalent of 'Shh'. A person might put their finger over their mouth and make this noise as a way to tell you to quiet down. You might also see a sign at a restaurant or bar with 'Chut' written in capital letters, warning patrons to be mindful of their volume when standing outside. Camembert - Yes, this is the soft, smelly cow's milk cheese from Normandy. It is also a way to jokingly tell someone to be quiet. It is a shortened version of the expression ferme ta boîte à camembert or ferme ta boîte au frômage , (close your box of camembert/cheese box) which is in itself a play on the more offensive phrase ferme ta bouche (or gueule , more on this below). Advertisement You might see a character in a kids' movie use this word. For example, J'explique mon plan diabolique, donc camembert (I am explaining my evil plan, so zip it!) READ MORE: 9 tips on avoiding a scolding in France Tais-toi - While some might translate tais-toi as 'shut up', it is a bit less harsh. Most of the time, you will hear parents or teachers using it to tell children to quiet down. It would be a bit insulting to tell a fellow adult tais-toi, unless you know them very well. Parents might also say ça suffit! (That's enough!) or doucement (Calm down). Ferme-la - You would only use ferme-la if you want to harshly tell someone 'shut it' or 'shut up' without using any swear words. It is a step above tais-toi . You would probably only use this in an argument. Ferme ta gueule - Often shortened to ta gueule , this is an offensive, aggressive way to tell someone to shut up. It would translate as 'shut the f*** up'. You might hear it when people are joking, but you should not use it in anger unless you understand its severity. Gueule means 'muzzle' or 'maw', and is a colloquial, often pejorative way of referring to either someone's mouth, like 'gob' or 'trap', or their whole face, like 'mug' or 'kisser'. Ferme ta bouche - This phrase might come up on the playground. It translates as 'close your mouth', and it is a less offensive version ferme ta gueule . Sometimes it is shortened as just ta bouche. Arrêtez de parler - Translates as 'stop speaking'. This is a command that a person might give to a rowdy crowd, or a teacher might use to tell a class to settle down. Merci de respecter le silence - This means 'please stay quiet', though it technically translates as 'please respect the silence'. You might hear this in a 'quiet' train car or a library, although it's more common on written signage rather than as a spoken phrase. Advertisement Silence, si vous plait - Translates as 'Silence, please'. This is another formal way to ask people to be quiet. Faites moins de bruit - Translates as 'Make less noise'. If you are standing outside a bar, loudly talking and disturbing the neighbours attempting to sleep above, the bartender might come out and ask you to faites moins de bruit. Do you recommend any other expressions to ask people to quiet down? Let us know in the comments below.