For years, Max Martinez has dedicated his time towards the fashion industry. A philanthropist and stylist, he makes women look beautiful and flawless. In Colorado, he owns three boutiques called MAX. He opened his first boutique in Denver 30 years ago. Later on, he opened two other boutiques in Boulder and Aspen. Max carries luxury and high end contemporary designers. He sells Céline, Dries Van Noten, Alexander McQueen, Isabel Marant Étoile, Thakoon, Sea, and many more designers! Max and his sales assistants connect with their customers on a personal level. They create a warm and hospitable environment where they make each customer feel at ease. No woman who loves fashion would feel complete without a MAX store around town.
Name: Max Martinez
Role: Store Owner
CollegeFashionista: What made you fall in love with fashion and what influenced you to pursue a career in the industry?
Max Martinez: I think it’s a calling. By the age of five I was already dressing my mother for church, telling her to wear her hair like Jackie O. It started at a young age, playing with Barbies. I always had a feeling for beauty at a very young age. I remember going to church and looking at how the women were dressed.
CF: For students who are not sure where they belong in fashion, how can students find his or her place in the industry?
MM: I think at a young age, even in college, start getting a retail job. Start getting an internship in PR and it will take a while to find whether it’s merchandising because there are so many great aspects, such as social media. Explore every option and start young. Start the second you feel like that’s something you want to do. Start doing a summer job at Banana [Republic] or anywhere to get your foot in the door and then see where it takes you.
CF: How did you start your own store?
MM: I started with 10,000 dollars 30 years ago. Just with a dream and a prayer. Never lost vision of what my goal was. For me, it was an emotional, spiritual connection that I wanted to make women look beautiful and feel empowered when they go out into the work force.
CF: You travel to New York, Paris and Milan to buy clothes for your stores. In more detail, can you explain the process of ordering clothes for all three boutiques?
MM: I do six trips per season. Two New York trips per season, two Europe trips per season and two L.A. trips. I go to Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. With that, I view everything from luxury to T-shirts, jeans and accessories. A lot of stores, they either deal with luxury or they deal with contemporary. Very few multi-brand stores have both.
Learn More: Max has three stores. In Denver, MAX is on 264 Detroit St. Boulder’s boutique is on 1177 Walnut St. and the Aspen boutique is on 609 E. Cooper Ave.
