On a sun-drenched afternoon in June, the Grand Hall of Mirrors in Granada’s storied Alhambra Palace Hotel has been transformed into a hive of traditional Andalucian artisanship. On one side of the palatial room, the swooshing of specialist wooden machinery is providing the soundtrack to leather being printed and embossed. On the other, precise hammering and chiselling creates a rhythmic beat as unique patterns are realised on 24-carat gold and silver-plated steel plates. The mood is celebratory, the work is exemplary, and the atmosphere is joyful, which stands to reason as this grandest of spaces is playing host to the making of a small fashion treasure; the new Pasticcino Bag from Weekend MaxMara.
The brand’s presence in the southern Spanish city marks the fourth destination of its annual Pasticcino Bag World Tour that has seen it celebrate the local craftsmanship of Venice, France and Japan to date, reinventing this compact clutch in numbered limited editions along the way. “Since starting the Pasticcino World Tour in 2022, we have always used textiles, so there was a natural desire to do something in leather,” explains Nicola Gerber Maramotti in the tile-lined terrace room next door against panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada mountains. As brand spokesperson, and daughter-in-law of MaxMara founder Achille Maramotti, she is responsible for helping to choose the destinations on the tour. For her, this region was a no-brainer.
“Where can you find better leather than in Cordoba? And where can you find the best artisanship and techniques that go back to the 11th century like in Toldelo? The combination is just marvellous,” she says. For this edition of the Pasticcino (named after the Italian word for “small pastry” on account of its sweet cinched size), the brand looked to two specific -and highly prized – specialists in their craft. The Cordoba-based Cueros Ghadamés, founded by Rafael Varo in 2001, was commissioned to create the leather, which uses the Guadamedí technique to emboss unique hand-cut patterns onto the leather making each cut one of a kind. Meanwhile, Toledo-based and globally renowned Manufacturas Anframa, founded in 1970 by José Carlos Sánchez Díez, was invited to create the Pasticcino’s distinctive double-sphere clasp using the ancient craft of damascene to inlay silver and gold into engraved steel.
Weekend MaxMara chose two different designs for each sphere (each takes four days to produce); the first is the traditional Arabic geometrical pattern, and the second a Renaissance design, with bird and flower motifs. For each artisan, the experience of collaborating with Weekend MaxMara represented a poignant opportunity to remind – and in many cases introduce – their traditional craft of which they are custodians to the world. It was also both their first time working with a fashion house. “It’s really important to keep the traditions but at the same time to innovate,” says Varo, whose company usually works in interior design and wall coverings. “It’s been a really enriching experience – the highlight was to hold the final bag in our hands and we are really happy with the final result”. “It is essential for us to keep the tradition alive,” agrees Díez. “This is a very old technique from Spain coming from the Arabic tradition, more than 10 centuries old. This technique is one of the most important parts of our heritage.”
Scarlett Conlon
For Maramotti, the Pasticcino World Tour spotlights the raison d’etre of Weekend MaxMara: accessible savoir faire with an insatiable appetite for travel. “I think it is so versatile,” she smiles. “When you’re travelling you want easy things that go well together, and no one wants a huge bag. You want a small little bag that fits into your suitcase that doesn’t weigh a lot, but that you can wear a cross body , you can do all your sightseeing with it, you go to a museum. It’s there with you, and it’s a friend.” As all good friends do, the Pasticcino encourages discovery with each annual addition, transporting collectors around the world and introducing them to local colour and cultures. “This is something that we like to give to everybody; an inspiration to travel,” smiles Maramotti, adding that craftsmanship is crucial to the destination. “It is something that doesn’t exist anymore and you don’t find it so easily. It’s to find time again, to appreciate and discover these things that take time, slow fashion, the beauty of the handmade. I think for younger generations it’s also very important to be proud that there are still traditions like this alive in the world, and the enormous satisfaction of that is something that I would really like to transmit with this project.”
Scarlett Conlon
Scarlett Conlon
Later in the day, Maramotti hosted guests at the Charterhouse Monastery, Cartuja, famed for housing some of the finest and most intricate examples of Andalusian Baroque, where secret and hidden details wait around every corner. As guests dine under the cloisters to local traditional music, the parallels between the venue and the Pasticcino were palpable. “Weekend Max Mara is always a brand that really wants to underline that it is fun to play with fashion,” Maramotti had said earlier in the day, pointing at the lining of the Pasticcino – a printed silk surprise waiting in every clutch. “I think it’s like the little details hidden inside that you really discover when you get a piece from Weekend and you just say, ‘how wonderful the lining is just for me. It makes such a difference to have that intimacy with what you’re wearing and connecting with it.”
What to do in Granada
Book a table at Carmen de Aben Humeya, a traditional Andalucian villa overlooking the Alhambra Palace, this is the spot for highest quality local fare; Iberian pork, lamb tagines, and plates of local Granadan cheeses. For shopping, head to Fajalauza ceramics factory, Granada’s oldest family-run business, dating back to 1517. Expect to leave with bundles of beautiful blue and white pottery and book in for a factory tour and then head to the shop to pick up oil pitchers, vases, and decorative serving platters. To embrace the local culture and arts scene, try Spain’s traditional dancing style, flamenco, at museum space Cueva de Curro, a pretty blue and white building up in the Sacromonte hills.
Where to stay in Granada
Hotel Alhambra Palace is the single best hotel to stay at and it’s a stone’s throw from the Alhambra and Granada Cathedral. The architecture is stunning but the views are the real scene stealer. For something more low-key, this beautiful Airbnb comes highly recommended, and overlooks the picture-perfect rooftops of the city below.
Shop the Weekend MaxMara Pasticcino bag
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