Leaving gravity – and convention – behind, the German Maison’s latest odyssey reimagines seasonal celebration with a dose of sophisticated rebellion.
The terrestrial holiday season can feel a little… predictable. The same carols, the same frantic gifting, the same relentless, earthbound cheer. It’s enough to make one’s spirit yearn for escape velocity. Enter MCM, the once-and-future enfant terrible of German luxury, which has once again glanced at the conventional playbook, offered a wry smile, and charted a course for the stars. For 2026, the house is not merely suggesting a new handbag; it is proposing an entire cosmology of celebration. Welcome aboard the Holiday Express, the chrome-plated, Visetos-clad heart of its ‘Planet Holiday’ campaign – a journey that is as much a witty commentary on our need for escapism as it is a masterclass in luxury storytelling.
This is the latest chapter in MCM’s ongoing ‘From Munich to Mars’ saga, a narrative that cleverly reframes the brand’s heritage not as a dusty relic but as a perpetual launch sequence. Founded in 1976 in the crucible of Munich’s avant-garde scene, MCM was born from a desire to subvert the staid codes of traditional luxury. Today, under the visionary stewardship of Sung-Joo Kim, that spirit of sophisticated rebellion is not just preserved; it has been given a nitro-boost. The brand’s global footprint – from its bastions in Seoul and Tokyo to its prominent outposts in The Dubai Mall and Abu Dhabi’s The Galleria – is a testament to a philosophy that resonates deeply with a generation that values provenance but despises pretence.
Our voyage commences, fittingly, with Boarding. The setting is a Munich reimagined through a lens of retro-futurism, a nod to the brand’s birthplace that feels more Metropolis than Marienplatz. Here, amidst a landscape of the brand’s iconic Haus codes, robotic attendants stand ready. The star of this terminal, however, is the New Liz Shopper – a silhouette as classic as a Bavarian dirndl but re-rendered here in a spectrum of hues from seasonal dazzle to the timeless, cognac-toned Visetos that is to MCM what the red sole is to Louboutin. It is the essential carry-on for the cosmically inclined.
View this post on Instagram
Once aboard, the second act, Space Travel, unfolds as a dreamscape. As the Holiday Express pierces the exosphere, the campaign shifts into a sublime ballet of product and cosmos. Small leather goods and limited-edition festive charms don’t just accessorise; they constellate, twinkling against the velvet darkness of the cosmos like a jeweller’s version of the Milky Way. It’s a sequence that would make Kubrick pause, a reminder that in the right hands, a charm is not mere trinketry but a personal satellite.
Then comes The Grand Banquet, a scene of zero-gravity grandeur that would make even the most jaded space tourist gasp. Inside the orbiting dining car, the laws of physics are suspended – and so are MCM’s iconic bags, floating as sculptural centrepieces above a table set for the gods. At the heart of this weightless waltz is the Aren Mini Bag, an archival piece from the house’s repertoire, deftly re-engineered for Autumn/Winter 2025. It hangs there, a testament to craftsmanship that defies not just trends but gravity itself – a silent, leather-clad guest of honour at the most exclusive dinner party in the known universe.
The final destination, Arrival on Planet Holiday, is where the campaign’s whimsical heart truly reveals itself. This is a world defined by snow-dusted peaks and populated by the brand’s now-iconic Rabbot – a charming hybrid of rabbit and robot that serves as the campaign’s playful spirit animal. The landscape is strewn with massive, brilliantly lit presents, among which treasures like the Aren East-West Shoulder Bag and the deliciously prop-like Small Aren Rocket crossbody bag lie in wait, as if discarded by a particularly stylish Santa. It is a vision of festive discovery, untethered from the commercial frenzy below, offering a more imaginative, more generous universe.
But in a characteristically self-aware, millennial-savvy move, MCM knows a story this rich shouldn’t just be watched – it should be lived. From 28 October 2025, the brand invites us to ditch the passive scrolling and pilot our own journey through an immersive digital game on mcmworldwide.com. It’s a strategic masterstroke, blending the tangible luxury of its craftsmanship with the digital frontiers where modern identity is so often forged.
So, as another year on Earth winds down to its familiar crescendo, MCM offers a compelling alternative. Why settle for the mundane when you can book a seat on the Holiday Express? It’s more than a campaign; it’s a state of mind. A gentle, ironic nudge that the ultimate luxury – the real seasonal must-have – isn’t just an object but an entire perspective, preferably one viewed from the window of a chrome train racing towards a planet made of pure, unadulterated wonder. Your ticket, naturally, is waiting.
