Countess Mara
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Countess Mara is a division of Randa Accessories.
Randa Accessories produces and distributes Countess Mara belts, leather goods, neckwear, shirts, sportswear and other fine products and accessories, worldwide. Major distribution regions include the United States, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Korea and Japan.
History
The actual Countess Mara was born Lucilla Mara de Vescovi, in Rome, in 1893. She married Malcolm Whitman, an American singles tennis champion in 1926. Vescovi observed that all of her husband's neckties looked the same: discreet and dull. So she found some silk dress material and made him a tie. It didn't hang properly or knot the way it should have, but nevertheless there was something quite tasteful about it. He wore it only to humor her, but to his surprise he received more than a few compliments on his new neckwear. Eventually, he gave some of the ties to his friends at the Racquet Club, and it was the gentlemen who formed the first cult of Countess Mara tie wearers.
She was also the first designer to win the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award for distinguished service in the field of fashion. The award recognized as the "Oscar of fashion". Among the first awardees are Christian Dior, Coco Chanel.
In 1935, Lucilla made several hundred ties, which she sold to a major retailer. The ties swiftly sold out, and she was in business. She gave herself the name: Countless Mara (Mara was a family name, the "Countess" part simply had a great snob appeal), and, in what proved to be a promotional stroke of genius, she had her initials discreetly woven on the outside blade each tie as a trademark. The tie industry referred to this as "name-dropping" but her success induced other tie makers to hire known artists and do the same.
Her ties became collector's items, (she usually produced only fifteen dozen of a kind) worn by celebrities and fashion-conscious businessmen alike. Frank Sinatra often wore Countess Mara ties, some custom made for him by Countess Mara [1]. A Countess Mara tie was de riguer for the man who could afford the best... or wanted others think he could.
Countess Mara Neckwear
The designer made several novel marketing decisions that catapulted her ties to popularity by 1938. In "Fit To Be Tied: Vintage Ties of the Forties and Early Fifties", writers Rod Dyer and Ron Spark note that Countess Mara created "exclusive ties", usually only fifteen dozen of each design. She prominently displayed her distinctive CM logo, included it as part of the tie design, and charged a hefty price. Mara's trademarked ties were such an instant success that other tie makers copied her business model and even hired artists to imitate the artistry in her ties.
In "The Tie: Trends and Traditions" writer Sarah Gibbings includes a picture of The Countess de Mar shown wearing a loosely tied Steinkirk. It is difficult to say whether Countess Mara was familiar with this 18th century painting by Kneller or if her choice of brand name was merely coincidental; nonetheless, as Roseann Ettinger points out in "20th Century Neckties: Pre-1955", the designer's decision to severely limit quantities, and to offer visually appealing designs and unusual motifs at a hefty price further illustrates her formidable talent as a designer and genius for marketing.
Countess Mara's muse came from anywhere and everywhere. Her ties are decorated with a variety of subjects: Sporting themes include tennis, polo, and skiing. Flora and fauna incorporate giraffes, camels, bison, lobsters, ferns, fish, deer, shells, vultures, cacti, fauns, flowers, dragonflies, mice, owls, sheep, zebras, turkeys, foxes, squirrels, sea urchins, insects, circus seals, fish, and geese. Mermaids, Lady Godiva, the Devil, fairies, magicians and dancing girls adorn her ties as do symbols and mundane objects such as Egyptian hieroglyphs, astrological signs, musical instruments, safety pins, clocks, guns, decks of cards, torn love letters, and key rings, to name just a few. Whatever the subject matter, none of Countess Mara's designs are bright or flashy as she preferred a subtle and and eye pleasing color palette.
The following excerpt from a New York Times article of February 1949 reveals Mara's absolute devotion to her art: "I think of ties morning, noon and night. At night, if I have insomnia, I count ties instead of sheep. I seldom go to the country. For me, the country consists of the jungles of my ties. They are populated with trees, flowers, and animals. I try to make my ties colorful, interesting, artistic, and gay, rather than showy and spectacular. Shadows I see on the street sometimes give me an idea for a new design. Other manufacturers have imitated my patterns and color combinations, but I don't mind. They have expanded the acceptability of the pictorial tie, so I'm glad."
Countess Mara, Today
Randa Accessories, a major manufacturer and distributor of men's neckwear, purchased Countess Mara in 1998 [2].
What of the Countess Mara tie today? In many vital aspects, it is much the same as it was during the countess heyday. The ties still convey a sense of integrity of design, an aura of cultivated aesthetic taste.
"In my opinion, Countess Mara introduced logo ties and novelty ties. She created high end designer ties by producing very limited amounts and pricing them for the uber rich. She cared deeply for her male clientele, creating wonderful neckwear from only the best silks." [3]
References
(1) http://www.randa.net
(2) http://www.countessmara.com/
(4) http://www.ties2pillows.com/countess_mara_biography.cfm