MILAN — MCM is eager to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026 but has already been on a ride this year to set the foundations for the future.
This underlying thinking informed global chief brand officer Dirk Schönberger’s approach to the spring 2026 season, the first he returns to oversee in that role after a two-year absence from the brand.
“My vision for MCM has not really shifted a lot. I think that when I last was with MCM [between 2018 and 2023] it was really of the highest importance to cherish the heritage of the brand but also knowing that if you are not careful relying only on heritage, it makes you fade out. So, for me, it was really important to rejuvenate the heritage,” Schönberger told WWD.
“The idea is really to merge the heritage of the brand with a future vision of what a customer really needs today,” he said.
The presentation of the spring 2026 collection on Wednesday during Milan Fashion Week will set the basis for the expansion of MCM’s ready-to-wear line and feature a couple of gimmicks sure to win over attendees, including a floating hologram.
An alum of Adidas, where he served as creative director from 2010 until 2018, Schönberger is teasing his vision for the luxury accessories brand, putting an equal emphasis on leather goods and rtw.
“The heritage of the brand is in leather goods, so that’s the core of my interest at the brand. But my first and foremost passion has always been ready-to-wear as well,” he said.
For the category, he said he examined today’s fast-paced lifestyles, seeking to create an elevated wardrobe for women and men on the move.
“It’s focused on this idea of a very active customer, and what we’d like to do with the presentation in Milan, is really to take a step up to really define this idea of a much more dressed up, much more tailored [look],” he said. “An upgraded look, with more constructed pieces, more fancy pieces and high fashion approach to our ready-to-wear.”
A collection of made-to-order pieces, spring 2026 takes cues from Taekwondo and martial arts.
Preview looks from the MCM spring 2026 collection at Milan Fashion Week.
Courtesy of MCM
Expect combat belts morphed into strapless dresses; judo knots taking center stage on ruched minidresses or cinching the waist of boxy jackets, and the minimalist bent of the Japanese fashion avant-garde echoed in the urban luxe uniform comprising a vest, crisp shirt and pleated balloon trousers or double-breasted pantsuits with fluidly oversize pants. It is to be filled with a lot of the MCM apparel carryovers that have been offered consistently over the past few years, such as the biker jacket and tracksuit.
The theme trickles down to accessories, MCM’s bread and butter, with judo belts wrapped around its signature handbags, which double up as shoulders straps.
“The modern customer is much more moving around the city these days.…It’s really the idea of the hands-free [approach] of being almost like a nomad,” the designer said.
A bag from the MCM spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of MCM
In addition to evoking movement, spatiality and strength, the martial arts inspiration pays homage to the non-German side of MCM, which is owned by South Korea’s Sungjoo Group.
“For me the Asian influence in MCM is definitely very well present and reflected in the crossover [between] a Western idea and an Asian idea,” Schönberger said.
Over the past few years and since decamping to Milan for its fashion and design presentations, MCM has created anticipation and buzz for its formats, including the recent “pet park” mounted in central Milan for Design Week in April.
Hosted at Casa degli Artisti, the fashion week presentation, conceived as an installation, will feature an AI-generated floating hologram, a live morphing figure intended to reference the martial arts theme.
The German luxury brand will also install an interactive screen on-site, doubling down on the rabbit-robot mascot created over the past two years for what MCM has described as its “trip from Munich to Mars,” Schönberger said with a chuckle.
The mastermind behind some of the high-profile creative collaboration at Adidas, with Rick Owens, Raf Simons and Kanye West, among others, Schönberger has already a clear creative playbook for MCM’s 50th anniversary next year.
Collaborations will be an integral part of the celebrations, he said, without giving away too many details. Music, sports, industrial design and a buzzy fashion talent will be involved.
“We will have really like a celebration of things that we and MCM care very strongly about,” Schönberger said.