French chic meets Italian summer
On a sizzling summer day, the French fashion line Maje unveiled its spring-summer 2026 line in the coolest of ways. A stylish crowd gathered at the Pool House on the sixth floor of the Grand Hyatt Manila, where the serene and expansive pool area is a hidden, green oasis. Maje presented a collection best described as Parisian chic meets an Italian coastal summer.
Extending the “Summer in the City” vibe, the brand has added the elegance of Sixties’ icons like Brigitte Bardot and the Princesses of Monaco vacationing in Saint Tropez. The airy linens, light cottons and blue denim would feel and look great even under raincoats and jackets, given our unpredictable weather.
Maje is a sister company of Sandro, another sophisticated French line also distributed by Stores Specialists Inc. Both fashion lines were even founded by sisters and Maje is, in fact, an acronym: “M” is the maiden name of co-founder Judith Milgrom, the “A” is Alain her brother and co-founder, “J” is for Judith and “E” for Evelyne, the sister who founded Sandro.
One of the distinctive features of Maje is its use of embellishment which includes embroidery, decorative edging, beadwork, lace, rhinestones, crochet and accessories like brooches and beaded buttons. But the decorations never overwhelm and are subtle touches that add a very French allure.
The silhouettes—sheaths with flared hemlines, halter dresses, and A-lines are feminine and romantic, and there are also structured pieces like jackets and coats. But even these more classic, tailored pieces are softened with dainty gold brooches for that romantic touch.
Cotton blouses are covered with a sheen of fine rhinestones, like a sprinkling of stardust. Denim and knit tops were likewise covered with the subtlest and finest of beaded shine. Blue stripes tie neck blouse are sprinkled with more tiny glitter, while on other striped shirts small gardens of beaded flowers bloomed. And apart from the silhouettes and embellishments, the designs on the fabric itself become elements to play with, such as in a black set where a print of white flowers against a dark top are echoed asymmetrically on the matching shorts.
Part of the subtle allure of Maje comes in small details, like a sky blue sheath which is unadorned in front, but whose back reveals a row of silvery ribbons with pearls. Many of the dresses reveal V-shaped or rounded low backs, with edges accented with rhinestones.
Guests like Stephanie Zubiri and Vanessa Matsunaga dazzled the chicly dressed crowd with the way they styled their Maje outfits. Stephanie wore a beaded denim skirt and top with the buttons open to expose a lacy bra top, and added a pop of color through an orange Maje bag that she purchased years ago.
“I loved shopping at Maje when I used to live in Paris,” Stephanie says.
Nikki Huang, SSI director of business development, expresses it best when she says of Maje, “I love its wearability, the way that you can wear it to all different occasions and the femininity that underlies everything in the collection.”
Maje is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc, and is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 5 and Rustan’s Makati.
