Max Mara celebrates 75 years with Resort 2027 collection and Shanghai exhibition, The Max!

Max Mara is celebrating its 75th anniversary in style. The Italian fashion house has unveiled its Resort 2027 collection, with a new archival exhibition, The Max!, also opening this week. 

At Shanghai’s Long Museum on Tuesday, guests were treated to a masterclass in Max Mara dressing. At its core are the maison’s classic codes of luxury-meets-utility, where everyday elegance is effortless and accessible. Highlights include versatile matching separates, sharply tailored suiting, variations of the iconic camel coat, and perfectly oversized outerwear that doubles as a dress. Pieces are rendered in a wearable palette of camel, khaki, black, white, and pops of red (a symbol of good fortune in China), while accessories elevate rather than compete.

The collection pays homage to its host city with nods to China’s rich sartorial heritage, from standing collars and pankou fastenings to a merino wool cheongsam dress. This is a collection that speaks to the everyday woman: life can be complicated, but style shouldn’t be.

The Long Museum also plays host to The Max! exhibition—the work of leading fashion historian and curator, Olivier Saillard. The showcase aims to recreate the dynamic atmosphere of the Biblioteca e Archivio d’Impresa (BAI): the institution that actively collects, organises, and preserves Max Mara’s history.

At the Long Museum, garments, accessories, fabrics, sketches, documents and photographs from the past 75 years are staged within open, industrial storage units alongside crates and shelving systems, as though visitors have stepped into the maison’s working archives or a museum repository.

The installation is structured into nine thematic chapters, which work together to tell the story of Max Mara, says Saillard. “One chapter is dedicated to the founding Maramotti sewing school—unique in the history of a fashion house. Another focuses on the first manufactory. One chapter centres on the vocabulary of style, while another explores the art of tailoring. One chapter honours the brand’s timeless icons, and another is based on the analysis of colour.”

A giant teddy towers over the space—an on-the-nose but fitting reference to Max Mara’s iconic 2013 Teddy Bear Coat. Visitors will also find a selection of the brand’s iconic outerwear, displayed alongside exclusive re-editions of three models.

As Saillard says, Max Mara ultimately embodies a philosophy of “clothing in service to women: supporting elegance, facilitating comfort, and elevating daily life through an essential wardrobe.”

The Max! is open to the public from June 17-28.

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