Sportmax

Sportmax was launched in 1969 by Achille Maramotti, founder of Italy's Max Mara Group, evolving out of an earlier, younger-skewing collection the group had called Pop. At the time, dedicated 'diffusion lines' — secondary labels within a fashion house aimed at a different customer or design register than the main collection — were not yet an established part of most fashion companies' structures, making Sportmax an early example of the format. The line was built around sportswear-influenced tailoring, drawing on both American sportswear codes and the freer fashion emerging from Swinging London, and gave the group a vehicle to experiment with bolder colors, new fabrics and more avant-garde silhouettes aimed at a younger customer than mainline Max Mara. Like the rest of the Max Mara Group, Sportmax is headquartered in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where the group was founded by Maramotti in 1951. Over subsequent decades Sportmax became known within the group specifically as its most directional, runway-forward line, distinct from Max Mara's classic coat-and-tailoring identity, while remaining under the same family-controlled ownership.