MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS

1/6 Virginia Galateri and Evelina Christillin

Evelina Christillin is the quintessential chic Italian working woman. She’s run FIAT’s press office in Turin, taught the History of Sports at the University of Turin and was President of Turin’s Winter Olympic bid and eventual win. As a current writer for Italy’s Corriere della Sera, she continues to be attracted to no-nonsense clothes that get her through her busy day with practical elegance. “This coat is perfect because it doesn’t shrink or squeeze you,” she says of Max Mara’s iconic 101801, “and it’s always in great shape even after 14 hours of work.” Christillin’s first experience with a Max Mara coat came even earlier than this iconic model that was designed in 1981. “The first one I ever had was given to me by my mother a long time ago. It has a beautiful fur collar. I still have it and wear it.” Her daughter Virginia, a contributor to Vogue.it, grew up wearing classic coats too, but has only just recently rediscovered the allure of this model. “It used to be mandatory but now I want to wear it,” she exclaims, “I love it!” More fashion obsessed than her mother, Virginia tends to mix the coat with recent runway treasures or cool scoops off the street. “I like that it’s classy and traditional but it can be rocked at the same time with distressed jeans and boots,” she says. “You can mix it with anything—even a long skirt or dress. This is a perfect item—a must-have for me.”

MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS

2/6 Maria Cristina Buccellati and Carlotta Catelli 

As scion to the Buccellati jewelry empire, Maria Cristina Buccellati and her daughter Carlotta Catelli were bred with impeccable taste. Surrounded by the beauty of Italian fine jewelry handcraft honed over the last five centuries, refined elegance and a sense of tradition comes naturally to these women. Maria Cristina, who is Worldwide Communications Director for Buccellati, lives in Milan but is frequently jetting off around the globe. She does it while wearing a wardrobe of nearly-exclusive neutral shades of black, cream, navy and beige, never touching print and rarely wearing colour unless it’s during the summer months. “It’s easier to get dressed this way,” she admits of her condensed wardrobe choices. “I never throw anything away either, the pants I’m wearing are 12 years old.” Such investment pieces work perfectly with Max Mara’s 101801 coat, which is the perfect topper to her uniform of tailored trousers and cashmere sweaters, finished off by any number of glimmering, exquisitely-made Buccellati fine jewelry pieces. “You can really wear it with anything,” she says, patting the coat’s glossy, perfect finish. Buccellati bought her first Max Mara coat at age 21. “I still have it and wear it today.” Meanwhile, daughter Carlotta, a photographer based in Spain, wears the camel coat either more casually: with dark blue jeans and Converse all-stars, or with a flirty cocktail dress and high heels (as shown here). "I steal high heels from my mom’s closet all the time,” admits Carlotta. “I never wear anything skin-tight. I like flowy and casual clothes, that’s why I love the 101801 coat!”

MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS

3/6 Cecilia Bringheli and Chantal Guggenheim

It’s hard to say who’s chicer: classically-turned-out CB Italy footwear designer Cecilia Bringheli or her stylish, globe-trotting mother Chantal Guggenheim who is printed in unexpected tattoos and comes jingling with fabulous ethnic jewelry. Either way, both Italian born women love the 101801 coat. “I adore Max Mara,” enthuses Chantal, “when I was 21 years old, I bought 3 Max Mara coats in one day; one black, one camel and one reversible black and camel!” Today, the 101801 coat remains a timeless go-to-piece in both women’s wardrobe, much like Bringhelli’s flat, hand-made-in-Italy slippers that go with everything. Whether they are running around Milan’s slick cobblestone streets or hopping on rocks at their holiday home in Positano, both women appreciate a practical staple that can be lived in. “You can wear this coat with everything,” says Cecilia. “And I really like the way you can belt it to see the line of the body or keep it open and wear it larger.” Both women favor a pared-down elegance, punched only with an occasional, statement-making piece. In Chantal’s case, it’s usually an oversized pair of earrings, from the many she has collected on her frequent travels to Indonesia. Cecilia prefers mannish, tailored separate pieces for her daily wardrobe. The key is “simple elegance without showing off,” she says. “Also, sometimes elegance is the way you are with people, not just the way you dress. My mom taught me that.”

MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS

4/6 Stefania and Micol Sabbadini

One of Milan’s top fine jewelers, tucked inside a tiny green-velvet-lined space in Via Montenapoleone, is run by the Sabbadini family. Stefania, the great matriarch, has overseen the company’s expansion while still demonstrating a flair for artfully composed dinner parties, impeccable manners, and even better hair. Her love for fashion has been a life-long pursuit from which her daughter Micol now benefits. “My mother’s closet is my favorite shopping center,” Micol laughs. “I steal everything- insane vintage pieces, bags and fur coats.” Another item she’ll soon be stealing is Max Mara’s famous 101801 coat—a key piece that Stefania first discovered decades ago. “It can be worn everywhere and you will always be chic,” she says. “This one designed by Max Mara in 1981 is still absolutely perfect.” Stefania chose to embellish her coat with a swarm of Sabbadini’s signature jeweled bee pins (“I never go out without them!” she says), finishing it off with a pair of suede pants and high heels. Micol, an art and fashion photographer based between Milan and New York, has a bolder look, choosing to show off her endless legs in a micro mini skirt and a set of platform sandals. “I’d also wear it with leggings or something fitted because the shape is oversized,” she says. “And this piece is amazing for travelling – it’ll match everything you brought in your suitcase.”

MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS

5/6 Carlotta Oddi and Marilena Oddi

Carlotta Oddi is one of Milan’s most stylish girls; a sophisticated ragazza who somehow manages to skip about town looking both as relaxed as a hippie and as cool as a romantic goth, while maintaining an impossibly fresh face.  As fashion assistant to Vogue Japan’s editor-at-large and creative consultant Anna dello Russo, she’s accustomed to being surrounded by the very best of fashion’s newest, latest and hottest.  Still, sometimes, the quiet easy glamour of a iconic coat hits just the right note with her fresh off the runway clothes.   “It’s a key piece, something you really need in your closet,” she says.  “What’s great is that it goes with everything and you can wear it both during the day and at night.” Carlotta paired her coat with cropped culottes, a mannish blue shirt and flat gold mule slippers, adding a touch of girlish glitter to the sober look.   “I really like the oversized style because I love layering,” she observes.  “You can wear two sweaters or even a jacket under it.”  Carlotta’s mother Marilena, who still lives in Monza where Carlotta was raised, provided an early stimulant for her love of fashion. Marilena frequently brought her daughter on shopping excursions to Milan where she continues today to be a client of Dior, Chanel and, of course, Max Mara. “The first camel coat in my life was from Max Mara,” she says, with a smile. “It’s a classic and you can really wear it with everything.”  

MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS

6/6 Sveva Camurati and Maria Luisa Capitanio

Fashion flows through the Milanese thoroughbred blood of Sveva Camurati and her mother Maria Luisa Capitanio. Camurati’s grandmother was a famed dressmaker who made exquisite confections for the city’s well-heeled elite in her haute couture atelier after World War II. The fashion bug was passed on to Camurati who now runs her own jewelry label called Sveva in the city centre. Sveva’s jewels – much like the designer’s own preference for colourful, print-happy clothes- is maxima, artful creations that make a major statement.  “Which is why I love this coat,” Sveva explains. “When you’re dressed as crazy as I am usually, you can’t wear a busy coat. You really need something minimal and cool. The 101801 coat is the perfect quiet piece to wear over a lot of loud pattern and print.” Sveva’s mother, a long-time psychologist based in Milan, used to wear a lot of Yves Saint Laurent in the 70s and 80s. Today she tends to wear more minimal pieces – black and beige—a clean day to night canvas for this coat’s simple lines. An impactful, feather and crystal-embroidered necklace adds a touch of whimsy to her elegant look. Meanwhile, Sveva’s teenage daughters Asia, 19 and Jaya, 21, also came on set to play around with the coat, pulling it on over their ripped jeans and doing air kicks. “I like that it’s oversized,” Jaya observed. “It’s super comfortable,” Asia said, “I’d wear it out at night for coffee with friends.” Their fashionable mother added another nugget of wardrobe wisdom. “Max Mara has always been a cavallo di battaglia[warhorse] for me,” Sveva said. “Something you always wear and never get tired of. Something you can pack for a trip and it goes with absolutely everything!”