Marina Rinaldi

Marina Rinaldi is the plus-size label of Italy's Max Mara Fashion Group, and that pedigree is the heart of the value case. You are paying for Italian tailoring, refined cuts and quality construction rather than fast-fashion turnover. For curvaceous women who want pieces built to last and to flatter, it is positioned squarely as a luxury investment, not a disposable buy.

The price reflects what sits behind the label: Marina Rinaldi belongs to the Max Mara Fashion Group, one of the company's best-known of 35 different labels, and it pioneered serious luxury for curvaceous women. Cuts are developed specifically for the fuller figure, and the brand was the first to coin the Italian term taglia comoda for plus-size. That combination of heritage, tailoring and craftsmanship is what you are paying for.

Marina Rinaldi is the classic, luxury line, while Persona by Marina Rinaldi is its younger, more fashion-driven sister label aimed at a trend-conscious customer. If you want timeless, elegant tailoring, look to the main line; if you want more contemporary, body-conscious silhouettes, Persona is the one to explore. Both come from the same Max Mara plus-size house.

Marina Rinaldi was founded in 1980 as part of Italy's Max Mara Fashion Group. It takes its name from the great-grandmother of Max Mara founder Achille Maramotti, who in 1850 owned a fashion atelier in Reggio Emilia, Italy. From 1984 its collections went international, reaching cities like Paris, Tokyo, Moscow and Düsseldorf.

Until Marina Rinaldi launched, there was no fashion group concerned with the needs of curvaceous women. Beginning its advertising in 1981 alongside Emanuele Pirella, the brand introduced the Italian expression taglia comoda, literally comfortable size, to replace the older, less flattering taglia forte, or outsize. That reframing helped legitimise luxury fashion for fuller figures.

Marina Rinaldi has more than 300 stores worldwide, including locations in high-fashion shopping districts: Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, Madison Avenue in New York City, Old Bond Street in London, and Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. Those flagship streets are a good signal of where the brand positions itself. Its boutiques and stockists are where you will find the full curvy-luxury range.

MR Characters was Marina Rinaldi's house magazine, which in 1991 became the first Italian publication dedicated entirely to the demands and desires of curvaceous women. It went beyond fashion to cover design, literature, art, cooking, travel, beauty and wellness, and in 1992 distributed 450,000 copies of its first issue in English, French and Spanish at stores worldwide. It is a telling piece of the brand's culture-building history.

Yes. The faces of the brand have included India Hicks, Carré Otis and Tatjana Patitz, and its campaigns have been shot by photographers such as Arthur Elgort, Peter Lindbergh, Patrick Demarchelier, Greg Kadel and Craig McDean. The label has also collaborated with plus-size figures including Ashley Graham and Precious Lee. In February 2012, Melissa McCarthy wore Marina Rinaldi at the Academy Awards.

As you would expect from a Max Mara house, the line is built on quality materials and Italian tailoring, with cuts developed specifically to take into account the features of the feminine figure. That focus on fit and finish is what separates it from generic plus-size offerings. Touch a garment and the attention to construction is meant to speak for itself.

For shoppers tired of replacing fast-fashion pieces, Marina Rinaldi is designed as the opposite: well-tailored, durable luxury intended to stay in your wardrobe. The figure-aware cuts and Italian construction are meant to flatter season after season. If you want fewer, better plus-size pieces, this is the lane it occupies.