Running luxury fashion brands may seem glamorous, but what we see on social media posts barely scratches the surface of the effort to maintain a premier brand.

The Vestis Fashion Group, a Vancouver-based luxury brand retail company founded in 1985 with Max Mara and Weekend Max Mara under its umbrella, recently tackled an even bigger challenge: opening its re-designed Weekend Max Mara Vancouver boutique at the province’s largest shopping centre, Metropolis at Metrotown. Nestled alongside esteemed neighbours Anne Louise Jewelers and Acr’teryx, this expansive 1,858 sq ft space sets a new standard for luxury retail experiences in Burnaby.

The re-imagined Weekend Max Mara boutique blends rich Italian design heritage with a welcoming, contemporary European home aesthetic, featuring natural wood flooring, geometric cement tiles, and chic checkerboard motifs. The boutique's captivating black and white Italian landscape wallpaper and timeless blue boiserie accent walls highlight the brand's commitment to craftsmanship, offering Burnaby's fashion-forward clientele an immersive shopping experience.

We had the pleasure of chatting with the business' VP of Retail, Harriet Guadagnuolo, about how their years of experience, thorough understanding of the target clientele, and ability to get things done helped to realize the vision behind the new Weekend Max Mara store.

P: Pendulum Magazine

H: VP Retail, Vestis Fashion: Harriet Guadagnuolo

P: Let’s start from the beginning. What attracted Vestis Fashion to the Max Mara and Weekend Max Mara brands? How long have you been working together?

H: First and foremost, the Italian heritage and luxury design attracted us to the Max Mara world. From there, we were introduced to Weekend Max Mara, which answers the call for a relaxed and more casual way of dressing that women crave. The stylish, high-quality everyday clothing that Weekend Max Mara brings to the table was something our customers resonated with and were looking for. Max Mara has always been known for beautifully tailored outerwear garments and quality layering pieces that make women feel beautiful and effortlessly put together.

P: If you had to refine the essence of the Max Mara / Weekend Max Mara brands down to one word, what would it be?

H: That’s hard because the Max Mara world brings so many elements of fantastic style together, but a combination of words that stand out is: effortless elegance.

P: Vancouver is known for its laid-back and casual fashion aesthetic; how did the Vestis team captivate its initial customers and find the right consumer?

H: The Max Mara ethos hinges on bringing pragmatic and timeless dressing solutions to everyday women. The brands are synonymous with classic, timeless dressing and pieces that work hard in your closet. Some might say Max Mara is the OG “quiet luxury brand” along with super luxury brands like Brunello Cucinelli and Loro Piana. Our customers understand the versatility and elegance that the Max Mara and Weekend Max Mara clothes have to offer, so they are sold immediately. Our products are sophisticated and useful, which can be a point of difference from other trendy luxury brands and their product offerings. We are a timeless brand and the quality of our product speaks for itself. After all, our clients can’t help but fall in love with our fabrics when they see them or put them on. Our natural fibre fabrics, like wool and cashmere, are some of the best quality in the world and can last our customers generations of wear.

P: There must have been lots of learnings from the past years building the Max Mara and Weekend Max Mara empire. If you had to share some key lessons you’ve learned running a fashion retail business, what would they be? 

H: One of our strengths as a retailer is the importance we put on our customer relationships and our clientele. Getting to know our customer is not only our biggest joy as a business but it is key for us to properly style and satisfy our customers. Our product is high quality, and there is always something interesting about the design that we can help our customers understand when they are investing in our pieces. We learn so much about our business in our relationships with the real women who love the Max Mara brands. So many of our customers are great friends. They trust our teams’ judgment and they have very close bonds. At the end of the day trust and service are our top priority, and this is something that has kept us strong in the retail industry for over 30 years in Western Canada. Some of our service offerings include on-site tailoring and personalized styling sessions with our incredibly talented team.

P: What have been some challenges when running an international fashion brand?

H: With our brand message being so clear and concise, we can’t always be everything to everyone but this is also our superpower. Our brands have very strong values and traits and there are many customers who know and love us for our approach to dressing. Max Mara and Weekend Max Mara will never be a trendy brand offering, but we have a clear direction: we make high-quality clothing for everyday needs for women who want to look polished and sophisticated. Our price point does reflect our quality and Italian design. Weekend Max Mara sits in the entry-luxury part of the market, and it does take some education with new clients to ensure they understand our product.

P: How have you incorporated these learnings into the various aspects of the new store? 

H: We put huge importance on understanding the values of our products and our team has a huge wealth of knowledge when it comes to product information. We have learned that our customers love to know the story behind our product, since our brand heritage and quality are so intrinsic to the brand. Whether we are speaking to fabric performance, stitching specifications, or even design inspiration, we always give our customers a wealth of useful information about a garment when they are considering their purchase.

P: How long did it take for the team to work on the new location? Is the merchandising and store design tailored to Metrotown's audience? How are they different from shoppers at your other stores, and how are you accommodating their needs?

H: We were pretty quick! Vestis Fashion Group is known for on-time, quick store builds! Our team was extremely organized, so our store was rebuilt in just a few months. Our Metrotown store is absolutely catered to our customers there. We have many women looking for vibrant colours and relaxed tailoring for their everyday wardrobe. Many of our clients are on-the-go career women and mothers, so they need pieces that make them feel confident and comfortable. 

We are currently showcasing an exclusive Weekend Max Mara capsule collection at the Weekend Metrotown store called Weekend Inserimento. This collection features fashion-forward styles that push the brand boundaries. This year, the palette and prints are a beautiful mix of neutrals: black, cream, cocoa, and rich mustard inspired by the Mediterranean sun and sea. The textures are light, with the use of crochet, linen, and airy fabrics.

P: The elevated and sophisticated DNA of the Weekend Max Mara brand connects all the different stores, but are there any elements unique to each shop under the Vestis umbrella?

H: Yes, we cater the Weekend Max Mara brands specifically to the Vancouver market and what local women enjoy wearing. Our buying team selects the pieces from the collection offering specifically for our market, so you will see pieces in our stores here in Vancouver that you may not see in other stores worldwide. We take a lot of care in ensuring our offering makes sense for our client base.

P: Located in Metrotown, which has hundreds of other stores, it provides great awareness and foot traffic, yet it also places you at the center of intense competition for shoppers’ share of wallet. Can you briefly describe what your team does to stand out?

H: We are a standout brand at Metrotown because we are near the top of the luxury offering in the mall. We are one of the most elevated luxury brands amongst our peer stores, and we have worked for over a decade to establish our client base in this location. Our business is based on a loyal following who loves our brand and believes in our products. New customers who have just discovered us usually love our service and obvious European qualities like tailoring and high-quality materials, so they become interested right away!

F: Establishing a new location requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work. What were some of the unique challenges in setting up this Weekend Max Mara store, and how did you and the team overcome them?

H: With a new location comes the challenge of communicating the change. We have worked hard to ensure that our existing client base knows where we are. Through advertising, collaboration with Mall management, and information direct to our clients, we are working on ensuring that people know where we are. Something positive to note is that we have moved from the upstairs to the Ground Level and are seeing lots of new faces discovering the brand for the first time, so the change has been good!

P: We heard Max Mara will also join the highly-anticipated Oakridge Park development, so it seems your team will have their hands full for the next year. Is that location already in the works? What will be unique about this future location?

H: We are thrilled to be coming back to Oakridge with Weekend Max Mara and Max Mara. This neighbourhood is home to many of our clients, and it is a tight-knit, supportive community. Yes, this location is in the works. The build will begin when the mall is ready for tenants in the first phase of retail. The locations in Oakridge will feature the new concept stores for both Max Mara and Weekend Max Mara which will offer the utmost quality and ambiance for our loyal clients and new customers.

A new storefront at the province’s largest shopping centre makes business sense as the Metrotown area has been experiencing unprecedented growth with an influx of newcomers to the city choosing to reside in the area and an accompanying increase in real estate development activity as a result of the demand. The Weekend Max Mara store’s bright and airy storefront and elegant clothing styles will surely draw the attention of a discerning and stylish audience in Burnaby and across British Columbia. Visit the website to get a first taste of the curated looks waiting to be discovered at the store.

Photos courtesy of Vestis Fashion Group