- Florence Pugh has been named the face of Max Mara's very first fragrance, launching August 24, 2026.
- The scent is the debut release from a fragrance licensing deal between Max Mara and beauty giant Shiseido, signed back in July 2024.
- Pugh has a prior history with Max Mara, having received the brand's WIF "Face of the Future" award and recently modeled its Ludmilla Icon Coat in Rome.
- Product details, including the fragrance's name and notes, haven't been revealed yet, with a full campaign rollout expected over summer.
Max Mara has tapped Florence Pugh as the face of its first-ever fragrance, marking a new chapter for the Italian fashion house.
The scent, arriving on counters August 24, 2026, is the inaugural product from a fragrance licensing partnership Max Mara struck with beauty conglomerate Shiseido in July 2024, bringing the brand’s tailoring heritage into the perfume aisle for the first time.
The pairing isn’t entirely new. Pugh shot a Max Mara campaign in Rome this past April, wearing the brand’s signature Ludmilla Icon Coat, and has previously been honored with the label’s WIF “Face of the Future” award for her film work. Max Mara says her natural confidence reflects a modern take on femininity that aligns with the house’s identity.
The Oscar-nominated actress has had a busy run lately. She’s also fronting Bvlgari’s 2026 jewelry campaign and was previously named the face of Valentino Beauty.
On screen, she’s gearing up for Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part 3, both expected later this year, following standout turns in Thunderbolts and Oppenheimer.
For Max Mara, fragrance is the latest extension of a brand that’s leaned heavily on star power in recent seasons, a strategy similarly seen with Dove Cameron’s new face role for Diesel’s “Only Desire” fragrance.
Takeaways
This deal is a smart pivot for Max Mara, a brand long known for its coats and tailoring, now stepping into the far more lucrative and visible fragrance category.
Pairing with Shiseido gives them the distribution muscle a fashion house alone usually lacks, and choosing Pugh, someone with genuine brand history rather than a fresh face, signals they want continuity over novelty.
With Pugh now fronting both Bvlgari and Max Mara, how do brands manage potential overlap or “ambassador fatigue” for a single star? Could this fragrance launch be the start of Max Mara expanding more aggressively into beauty and lifestyle categories beyond apparel?
