The love of tailoring and dedication to clothes is an attitude with deep roots. Marina Rinaldi, the founder's great-grandmother, owned and managed an important atelier in the centre of Reggio Emilia in 1850: a craft business that stood out for its attention to detail and finish. This almost visceral passion was then passed down to her granddaughter, Giulia Fontanesi Maramotti, who in 1925 began teaching sewing and patternmaking on her own, publishing a series of books dedicated to the 'theory of cutting'. It was in this context that Cavaliere Achille Maramotti founded the first company of the Max Mara Group in 1951, today one of the most important international fashion houses and recognised worldwide as the precursor of modern pret-à-porter: "haute de gamme" womenswear produced according to industrial processes of excellence.