MILAN — A newly designed anniversary logo is only one of the ways MCM is marking its 50^th year. 

The German luxury accessories brand is kicking off the celebrations of the milestone with “Icons Reinvented,” a year-long global platform that reimagines the brand’s most recognized styles, including the Stark Backpack, Liz Shopper, Ella Boston and Ottomar Weekender designs.

“I’m not a person that likes to always look back and redo what was in the past. I always want to look forward. But of course, when you get to an anniversary, you ask yourself what is important to the brand, which for us is the allover logo and some styles that are connected to it,” global chief brand officer Dirk Schönberger told WWD.

Yet for the designer, just the product was not enough. The project offered him a chance to spotlight the people around the brand. “I was really looking at this idea of 50 years, meaning there are generations that have been in contact or working for MCM for decades… and we wanted to show different ages, different generations and chosen families that are part of the storytelling of MCM,” said Schönberger. 

The campaign that resulted, which will be unveiled on Thursday, involves personalities across industries. For one, MCM will release an exclusive conversation with heritage brand ambassador Herbert Lieb, an early team member who’s been hands-on product at the company for four decades. In another episode, the brand tapped DJ and NTS radio host Flo Dill to delve into the connection between the label and its roots. 

Founded in Munich in 1976, MCM emerged at a defining cultural moment, when the German city was standing at the crossroads of disco glamour, jet-set nightlife, avant-garde design and a new wave of liberated self-expression. 

“It was a very hedonistic time for post-war Germany, which was pretty dark at that time. I was a teenager then and Munich was loud. Nothing else was really glamorous in Germany except for Munich,” recalled Schönberger. “So we will start talking about stories from that time… it will be a continuous rollout of conversations that we are going to have throughout the year. And part of this conversation is, of course, product but part are also our main pillars, the connection to music, fashion, art and sport as well, [which] will show up in collaborations throughout the year.”

The first ones will bow in Milan during Salone del Mobile, running April 21 to 26. This will mark a return to the design event for the brand, which has been staging interactive presentations there since 2024.

Schönberger said this time its showcase will be tailored after “a music travel theme” conceived by Sungjoo Kim, chief visionary officer of the brand, which is owned by South Korea’s Sungjoo Group.

“Mrs. Kim had this idea of disco but from past to the future,” teased Schönberger. “It’s not like ’70s disco, but disco on Mars, so we are clashing something that is very nostalgic in a way with something futuristic.”

MCM will collaborate again with Atelier Biagetti — with whom it worked for the previous two editions to enter the home category and develop pet-friendly pieces — to create an immersive space with futuristic elements. “It’s really a celebration. It should be fun, for people to come there, look at product that we are launching but also to have these Instagrammable moments and this experience of MCM between the heritage and the future,” said Schönberger.

In addition to these limited-edition products, the brand will collaborate with Munich-based high-end porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg on a cup inspired by the diamond shape in the MCM logo, in a tie-up intended to signal not only the mutual roots but also the shared importance given to craftsmanship. 

A partnership with Düsseldorf-based furnishings firm Vetsak — where Schönberger worked in between his tenures at MCM and where he remains chief brand officer — will add to these, resulting in a bean bag and a seating element rendered in the brand’s signature monogram material, as well as being available made-to-order.

To be sure, Schönberger is very familiar with tie-ups. The designer is probably best known for being creative director at Adidas from 2010 until 2018, during which time he brought on board high-profile creative collaborators such as Rick Owens, Raf Simons and Kanye West, and revived vintage classics such as the Stan Smith sneaker. He returned to MCM in 2025, after a two-year absence, as he previously logged a stint at the luxury house from 2018 to 2023.

His plans for this year will see MCM touch down in five to six major cities in Europe, the U.S. and Asia for activations linked to collaborations intersecting other fields. Among these, Schönberger teased taking part in a fashion show through a partnership with another brand, tie-ups with musicians and a sports team, as well as taking part in the Frieze Art Fair in Seoul to show an expanded version of what will be presented during Salone del Mobile.

In addition to celebrating the company’s milestone, the goal of these projects is to display the evolving vision of the brand and what’s ahead for its next chapter. 

Schönberger pointed at 2005, when Kim acquired the brand, as a pivotal moment for the company, as it kicked off the pop era of MCM, tapping into a younger and more international customer and boosting its global footprint. The label currently has 584 stores in 43 countries.

“And now we are in a new stage because we really feel like luxury is changing. It’s a little bit in trouble in a certain way, [in regard] to who is the new customer that we are all working with,” said Schönberger.

“We’ve been very much relying on our main pattern and now we are really moving into something to simplify and modernize the brand, to show the luxury touch and the craftsmanship in the coming stage,” he said, adding that deeper explorations of the ready-to-wear and lifestyle propositions will also inform the label’s future and shift the way MCM will look.

“We are using this 50th anniversary not to oversell the past, but to really start to build the foundation for the future of the brand, a bit of a new look,” said Schönberger. “The DNA is [being] a travel brand… if it’s about movement, It’s also about daily life in a certain way. So it’s about shifting from this idea of travel into a daily life functionality. We are looking into making luxury products that inspire and are fun, but that serve you [every day]. It’s not just about the image but the functionality: these products need to work, not only look good.”