14 hours Ago By Annie Brown
British brand Jaeger introduced coats made of camel hair in 1919, when wool was hard to come and today it is a wardrobe staple, which Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths refreshes every season When you think of it, could there be an item of clothing that says “star power” any more unequivocally than a camel coat? It’s the kind of luxurious swaddling that celebrities from Marilyn Monroe to Jackie Kennedy in the 70s, Hailey Bieber to Iman, and most recently Angelina Jolie – in Brunello Cucinelli at the Torino Film Festival – have worn. In what has become one of the most defining moments when it comes to chicness on-screen, Sienna Miller’s Max Mara Manuela coat in the TV series Anatomy of a Scandal became the poster child for the quiet luxury shift. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Max Mara camel coat. Photo: Handout","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2025/01/22/0c2058bc-87a5-4104-8980-ba1e97bea3bc_6ac3b21f.jpg"} Max Mara camel coat. Photo: Handout Advertisement To be fair though, the camel coat – which was originally practical and utilitarian, beginning with British brand Jaeger introducing coats made from camel hair in 1919, when wool was hard to come by post World War I – has always been an elegantly understated piece.
Even a high street one in a good fabric – if not wool or cashmere, then a very considered blend – will make you look expensive. For both men and women it brings instant polish – especially so with an ankle-skimming one – and can be thrown over practically anything to achieve this effect. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Brunello Cucinelli camel coat. Photo: Handout","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2025/01/22/3ae509a2-0cf9-48f9-8193-690c3c85f8b7_8d4ad456.jpg"} Brunello Cucinelli camel coat. Photo: Handout Max Mara has been synonymous with the camel coat since the brand’s founder, Achille Maramotti, introduced a take on a long-time menswear staple in the 50s – subverting notions of power and masculinity, and redefining chicness in the process.
In 1981 designer Anne-Marie Beretta introduced what would become the brand’s iconic 101801 coat. The instantly recognisable take on a men’s Ulster coat – oversized, double breasted with kimono-style sleeves in wool and cashmere – has remained a constant, and covetable, piece in the brand’s history. Long-time Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths is tasked with reinterpreting the Italian fashion house’s famous coat each season.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Max Mara reinterprets the camel coat each season. Photo: Handout","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2025/01/22/f32bc2ab-73d5-4461-a9d9-617f40d8a154_5596c2e8.jpg"} Max Mara reinterprets the camel coat each season.
Photo: Handout.
