The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2023 - Issue 34

bitefashion A fter graduating, Helmut Schlotterer travelled to Carpi near Bologna in 1973, where he had a vision. “I wanted to create an international fashion brand. Italy - that was my dream.” Thus, Marc Cain, named after a friend of a friend, was born in the city considered the Mecca of knitwear. Helmut had previously been to Paris in 1968, where he learned fashion always goes hand in hand with emotions. “I understood what a brand is and why desirability is important in fashion,” he said in an interview. His father had a small knitting company in Germany, but Hel- mut had no desire to join the business. He studied architec- ture at university but gave up, opting to learn engineering at a technical university. “After my father’s company went bank- rupt, I returned home to save his employees and machinery,” he told S Magazine in 2018. “In Germany, there was no basis for a business idea like Marc Cain; it had to start in Italy. I was a one-person company, and during that time, we only dealt with knitwear.” The first Marc Cain collection launched in 1981 paved the way for future contemporary attractive silhouettes and playful de- tails, creating an expressive, feminine look. “In the ‘80s, the looks stood for self-confidence and independence.” Two years later, Marc Cain became the first fashion brand to open a year- round showroom in Düsseldorf ’s Kaiserswerther Street. Oth- er labels followed their example, and the showroom’s location eventually became Showroom Street. In 1984, the brand made a foray into men’s fashion, producing it alongside the women’s collection. However, after four years, it decided to focus mainly on and extend the women’s range. Its first store opened in Mainz, Germany, in 1986, combining fashion and brand themes. The following decade demonstrated the ‘perfect coordinated outfit’ and the subtle clash of seeming- ly different individual pieces. “These contradictions find each other and yet still manage to create a new picture.” Marc Cain revolutionised its designs with a new inkjet printing process their competitors still needed to have in 1998. It print- ed on various fabrics such as alpaca, wool, viscose and cotton and reproduced different fits such as the fully fashioned or 3D knit. The following year, the brand ventured into sportswear, launching its Marc Cain Sports line, interpreting the casual trend of the mid-90s with typical signature looks that were trendy, sporty and full of joie de vivre (joy of living). Between 2004 and 2009, the brand became active in sports sponsoring. It introduced its racing team at the 12th Ferrari Challenge Europe in 2004, with Helmut an active member. Austrian racing driver Philipp Baron drove for the Marc Cain racing team in 2006. He won the Trofeo Pirelli two years later at the Mugello race, achieving the Ferrari Challenge world cham- pionship title. The first female drivers in the racing team were Maria de Villota, daughter of Spanish racing legend Emilio de Villota, and Tamara Vidali.