MAJE; DREAM TOMORROW

My brother and I went to the same university. He is three years younger than me, and whenever I wax poetic about my college years, the most vivid memory I have of my alma matter was going to his graduation. Every moment was filled with the sudden rush of nostalgia, and every nook and cranny of these old storied halls had its own story to tell. How come we never know we’re in the good old days until we’ve left them?

My own graduation felt more like the last step of a cumbersome series of events that would inevitably signal my entrance into adulthood — and all the dreaded pressures of the next 40 or so years before retirement. On my graduation day, after making my way to Classroom A for family photos, Classroom B to pick up my school pin, queuing with block C to sit in row D for the ceremony, and then waiting for them to announce the names starting with the letter T, so I can finally have my moment and pick up my diploma and move the ribbon on my graduation cap. “Four years has led up this” I thought, but the whole thing felt more like a bookmark to the end of what I didn’t know, were truly — the good old days.

In Maje’s case, the last twenty years have been nothing but spectacular. Judith Milgrom created MAJE from the initials of her loved ones’ names, and the brand has since become synonymous with an effortless kind of French allure. Think Caroline de Maigret or Vanessa Paradis, and now picture them riding a vespa with a fresh basket of baguettes, — wearing a sleek suede pump, a smart boot leg jean, and loose white button down; and you can bet that you’re picturing the whole look in MAJE. Twenty years ago, Judith Milgrom pretty much invented the premium-high street retail space; and what followed soon-after was a series of Parisian high street hits like Sandro and Claudie-Pierlot; all of which defining contemporary french style for a generation of women. What’s next for MAJE after two decades in the industry? Have they left the golden years? – Not very likely it seems, as their Dream Tomorrow Campaign, shot by the always enigmatic Coco Capitan, signals a step into a new chapter for Maje’s ever growing narrative

Dream Tomorrow signals new and uncharted territory for Maje, and is shot as a Yearbook of sorts. The campaign features some very quirky portraits of Maje’s new breed of young non-standard models. These three young women come from different backgrounds and ethnicities, representing the ethnic diversity that has been core to Maje since the very beginning; and Coco Capitan candidly captures these women in the intimate moments where they talk about their dreams… Within the school halls, Academic doodles, Walkmans, gains slushies, and cassette tapes all hark back to a time when lost innocence and certainties were yet to be confirmed.

It’s clear that Dream Tomorrow is unlike any other MAJE campaign in recent memory. There are no sleek and elegant women strolling around the romantic streets of Paris. They have been replaced with the happy, giddy, slightly awkward and proudly eccentric youth of today; from the Varsity champs to the outcasts. This is a whole new generation of Maje lovers just entering into adult-hood, a whole new generation of women who will grow with Maje and bring them into the future. If this is MAJE’S own graduation — then it seems that the good old days are still yet to come.

“We tell ourselves that mountains are made to be moved and that the world will now turn to our tune. Nobody can tell you what to do anymore. No limitations — only choices. We experiment, we make progress, sometimes we fail and sometimes we bounce right back. Not quite grown up but not quite a child either. When you’re twenty, nobody can say it’s not the best age to be”.