Max Mara Paris boutique marked 30 years with a makeover and expansion. The brand opened on the corner of Rue Bonaparte and Rue du Four in the city’s tony 6th arrondissement (Saint Germain) three decades ago, and has taken over an additional floor of its historic building.
Expanded to 6,000 square feet, the boutique occupies the ground and first floors, where the brand preserved an existing apartment through the revamp. Now, the boutique is designed with a series of small rooms. The renovation was overseen by Nicola Gerber Maramotti, the company’s ambassador who oversees the development of the group’s European shops.
Designed like a residence to invoke the Italian spirit with a series of small rooms, the most exclusive is tucked away with a cozy fireplace and artworks from painter Sally Ross from founder Achille Maramotti’s private collection of contemporary art, available upon reservation. Other rooms feature space for collection presentations from the brand’s in-house stylists.
The ground floor features marble shelving with touches of camel and rust, anchored by a gold wall and hosting leather goods, accessories and eyewear at one end, and selected collections at the other. Upstairs, the brand has recreated the original herringbone wood parquet in aged oak, with a massive, bed-like sofa sitting front and center. Other areas include installations featuring the outerwear as art.
Max Mara’s historical connection to the space and neighborhood holds special significance for the renovation. Gerber Maramotti recalled that the company opened the boutique in the Saint Germain neighborhood to recognize its cultural roots amongst writers, including Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, artists including Juliette Gréco, as well as its historic brasseries.
