Max Mara 75: How the Brand Wooes Max Mara China Consumers with Shanghai Runway Tribute to Guochao Trend

## Introduction Luxury fashion brand Max Mara marked its 75th anniversary with a landmark runway show in Shanghai, as part of a targeted strategy to connect with Max Mara China consumers amid the country’s fast post-Covid luxury spending recovery, and align with the dominant local guochao trend. The show blended respectful nods to traditional Chinese cultural codes with the brand’s signature aesthetic, avoiding stereotypes and cultural appropriation, to reinforce Max Mara’s status as a symbol of professional success and modern femininity for Chinese metropolitan women.

## Max Mara China Strategy: Celebrating 75th Anniversary in the World’s Fastest-Growing Luxury Fashion Market The Max Mara 75 Shanghai show is part of the brand’s long-term strategy in the Chinese market, where it is one of the first Western luxury labels to prioritize local consumers, with 33 years of operation in the country and 8 standalone boutiques in Shanghai alone. Chinese consumers account for roughly a quarter of global luxury spending, and the market is rebounding strongly post-Covid thanks to a rising domestic stock market, creating an ideal environment for European luxury brands to strengthen their presence and customer loyalty. Shanghai, as China’s luxury fashion hub and home to Max Mara’s core audience of metropolitan professional women, was a natural choice for the brand’s milestone celebration.

## Balancing Chinese Cultural Heritage and Max Mara Identity: Avoiding Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriation Max Mara’s chief designer Ian Griffiths faced a delicate challenge when preparing the Shanghai runway show: translating traditional Chinese aesthetic codes such as knotted silk pankou buttons, cheongsam silhouettes, and standing-collar side-fastening jackets into the brand’s signature design language, without resorting to clichés or cultural appropriation. Griffiths noted that the team conducted extensive consultations with Chinese cultural experts and local designers prior to the show to ensure tributes to Chinese heritage were respectful and contextually appropriate, framed as part of Max Mara’s 33-year long-standing relationship with the Chinese market rather than a one-off marketing tactic.

## Aligning with the Guochao Trend: Connecting Max Mara to the Ambition of Modern Chinese Women The guochao (or "national wave") trend is the most dominant shift in the Chinese fashion market today: a move toward consumption closely tied to cultural identity, driven by Gen Z consumers who prioritize expressing their personal experiences over following Western luxury trends. Max Mara aligned itself with this shift by tying its brand identity to the ambition of modern Chinese women, casting almost exclusively local models for the Shanghai show, and hosting Chinese-American Olympic skier Eileen Gu in the front row. The collection reimagined traditional cheongsam designs using pale stretch wool instead of ornate floral silk, creating a sophisticated take on the office-friendly shift dress that resonates with the wardrobes of professional Chinese women.

## Max Mara 75: Post-Show Strategies to Boost Loyalty in the Chinese Market Max Mara’s strategy in the Chinese market extends beyond runway shows to cultural initiatives that resonate with local audiences. The brand recently provided wardrobing for a Chinese production of the play Prima Facie, which explores gender and empowerment themes, aligning Max Mara’s visual language with global cultural conversations that matter to Chinese women. Recent Max Mara runway collections have also framed an esoteric feminist history syllabus, with muses including 18th-century mathematician and physicist Émilie du Châtelet, directly addressing the aspirations of Chinese women pursuing professional success and personal empowerment.