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SCMP Style Reporter

Luxury leather goods used to mean cumbersome trunks and outsized suitcases. Nowadays, though, with people living half their lives in transit, moving from hot desk to hotel and back again, a “status bag” means something different.

For its 50th anniversary collection, alt luxe label MCM has released Icons Reinvented – a reworking of some of its best known pieces. It’s not so much a museum retrospective as a year‑long remix. Signature silhouettes – the Stark backpack, Liz shopper, Ella Boston and Ottomar weekender – are rebuilt around what MCM calls “smart luxury”. That means bags that are seasonless, easy to move with, ageless in appeal, responsibly made and able to shape-shift with the way we live now. Constructions are lighter and interiors can reconfigure depending on whether you’re carrying a gym kit or a laptop.

Longevity – and therefore sustainability – is built into the collection. The focus is on designing bags that can still look current in five or even 10 years, making them more “permanent wardrobe accessory” than single‑season flex. “For 50 years, MCM has been made to move,” says Sung-joo Kim, chief visionary officer of MCM. “We have always translated cultural momentum into meaningful design. That responsibility becomes even more important for the next generation.”

Dirk Schönberger, global brand officer of MCM, agrees. “By listening closely to our community and designing with intention,” he says, “MCM will continue to shape a definition of luxury grounded in utility, adaptability and creative freedom.”

The latter is very much a byword of the house, which was born in 1970s Munich: a magnet for disco divas, jet‑setters and avant‑garde designers. In that heady milieu, MCM’s Bauhaus‑meets-nightclub attitude saw “form follows function” reimagined for frequent flyers. Since then, the brand has slipped in and out of different cultural frames: spotted in New York hip‑hop videos in the 80s and 90s, folded into K‑pop wardrobes in the 2000s, and now reappraised by a generation on the move.

Anchored by the theme of “Mavericks”, who have always been part of MCM’s identity, celebrations will roll out globally, but everything culminates back in Munich during Oktoberfest – a neat full circle to the city where it all began. And while there’s a new 50th anniversary logo, the message is clear: five decades on, MCM is less interested in nostalgia than in testing how far a travel‑minded, culture‑literate idea of luxury can go.


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Style Edit: MCM marks 50 years by reinventing its iconic bags for an era of smart luxury

MCM’s 50th anniversary collection is betting on longevity as the new sustainability. Photo: Handout

MCM new Liz shopper tote in medium. Photo: Handout

A page from MCM’s archive catalogues the luggage range that put the Munich house on the map in the 1970s. Photo: Handout

MCM Ella Boston in small. Photo: Handout

MCM Stark backpack in medium. Photo: Handout

Heritage brand ambassador and early team member Herbert Lieb with a vintage MCM piece. Photo: Handout

Flashback: style consultant Declan Chan on his favourite outfits

Declan Chan does suiting and street style equally well. Photos: Getty Images, Handout

Declan Chan in Bobby Abley. Photo: Getty Images

Declan Chan in Craig Green. Photo: Getty Images

Declan Chan in Calvin Klein. Photo: Getty Images

Declan Chan in Valentino. Photo: Handout

Declan Chan in Louis Vuitton. Photo: Handout

Russell Crowe’s luxury watch collection, which the Gladiator star revealed on TikTok

Russell Crowe, accompanied by his girlfriend Britney Theriot, was spotted wearing a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Tiffany” at Wimbledon last year. Photo: Getty Images

Britney Theriot and Russell Crowe arrive at the Giorgio Armani fashion show during the Milan menswear spring/summer season, in June 2024. Photo: Getty Images

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Tiffany” is one of Russell Crowe’s most-discussed timepieces. Photo: Handout

The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M is a tribute to James Bond. Photo: Handout

Russell Crowe also has a liking for small brands like Maurice de Mauriac. Photo: Handout

Russell Crowe’s daily watch is currently a Tudor Black Bay Chrono “Flamingo Blue”. Photo: Handout

The Rolex Sky-Dweller in rose gold is among Russell Crowe’s most premium pieces. Photo: Handout

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Geographic is Russell Crowe’s choice for special occasions. Photo: Handout

The Rolex 1908 is the watch that caught Russell Crowe’s attention most recently. Photo: Handout

Flashback: style icon Yoyo Cao looks back on her favourite outfits

Through the years, Yoyo Cao has brought originality, variety and vitality to all her looks. Photos: Getty Images

Yoyo Cao, looking riveting in red. Photo: Getty Images

Yoyo Cao in Gucci. Photo: Getty Images

Yoyo Cao in Celine. Photo: Getty Images

Yoyo Cao in Chanel. Photo: Getty Images

Yoyo Cao in a striking white Shushu/Tong outfit. Photo: Getty Images

Yoyo Cao in Nicole + Felicia. Photo: Getty Images

What happened to the designer of Carolyn Bessette’s wedding dress, Narciso Rodriguez?

Narciso Rodriguez designed Carolyn Bessette’s dress for her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr.
Photos: @AFP; @vintage.daddios/Instagram

Love Story, starring Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly, was executive produced by Ryan Murphy. Photo: FX via AP

John F. Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette were always in headlines. Photo: Liaison

Carolyn Bessette used to work for Calvin Klein. Photo: Getty Images

Narciso Rodriguez, winner of the lifetime achievement award, poses in the winner’s walk at the CFDA Fashion Awards at the Brooklyn Museum in June 2018, in New York. Photo: AP

Claire Danes and Narciso Rodriguez. Photo: AP

Flashback: Filipino influencer Bryanboy introduces his favourite looks

Bryanboy is a fashion icon. Photos: Getty Images

Bryanboy in Maison Margiela. Photo: Getty Images

Bryanboy in Ralph Lauren. Photo: Getty Images

Bryanboy in Loewe. Photo: Getty Images

Bryanboy in Balenciaga. Photo: Getty Images

Bryanboy in Alaïa by Pieter Mulier. Photo: Getty Images

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MCM celebrates the big five-oh by reimagining its cult silhouettes for a new generation of global, on‑the‑move alt luxe lovers


MCM celebrates the big five-oh by reimagining its cult silhouettes for a new generation of global, on‑the‑move alt luxe lovers.


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Style Edit: MCM marks 50 years by reinventing its iconic bags for an era of smart luxury

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}MCM celebrates the big five-oh by reimagining its cult silhouettes for a new generation of global, on‑the‑move alt luxe lovers

MCM celebrates the big five-oh by reimagining its cult silhouettes for a new generation of global, on‑the‑move alt luxe lovers