Max Mara Took Its Iconic Style to the Countryside for Three Days of Luxury at Bedford Post Inn
Updated: 4 hours ago
For three days this October, Max Mara and City Country Beach invited guests to discover the Fall/Winter 2026 Collection in an intimate countryside setting.
There is a moment every fall when a good coat stops being a nice idea and becomes a necessity. In Bedford, NY it arrives sometime in October, when the leaves turn and the morning air gains a bite. It is, in other words, the ideal time and place to try on a camel coat.
Max Mara seems to have understood this perfectly. The Italian house partnered with City Country Beach to take over Bedford Post Inn for a three-day celebration of its Fall/Winter 2026 and Icon Coats Collections. There were no crowded sales floors and no fluorescent fitting rooms, just an invited group of VIP guests, a beautiful country inn, and all the time in the world. To bring the experience to life, Jacquelyn Rawlings, head of events for Max Mara Americas, led the creative direction and production on behalf of the house along with City County Beach. The experience featured a dedicated shopping space complete with a fireside lounge, gourmet coffee, cocktails and more. Guests were invited to explore and shop capes, coats, jackets, trousers and knit dresses, with pieces available for immediate purchase and take-home.
The Ultimate Investment Piece
Naturally, the coats were the stars of the show. Max Mara's Icon Coats have long been the house's calling card, and for good reason: the proportions are unmistakable, the fabrics exceptional, and the construction is the kind that quietly outlives every trend cycle. Guests could move between the Teddy Bear Coat, the 101801, the Ludmilla, and the Manuela seamlessly, each telling a chapter of the house's history. Seen together, they made a compelling argument for investing in timeless items made with integrity.
Then there was the newcomer. To mark its 75th anniversary, Max Mara introduced the Ready coat — a wrap coat in double-faced pure camel hair that feels destined to join the canon. It is the sort of piece that never needs to announce itself: the ultimate quiet luxury statement item in the truest sense. But the coats were only part of the draw. The Fall Winter 2026 Collection was filled with luxe layering pieces perfect for city dwellers and country escapees alike. The collection presented at Bedford Post Inn was a curated assortment of closet staples and trend-forward items straight from the runway.
More Than A Day of Shopping - A Luxury Lifestyle Experience
Between fittings, guests slipped away for wellness and beauty treatments with The Formula x Meredith and Veronika's Aesthetics, or settled in at the brow bar by Pilar DeMann of Pilar's Beauty. A Max Mara espresso cart kept everyone energized, a pizza bar gave everyone a taste of Italy, and a calligrapher personalized gifts with purchase. Gifting from Bio.me, HigherDOSE, and The Fill Club ensured no one left empty-handed. The effect was less a shopping appointment than a very chic weekend at a friend's country house.
That feeling is precisely the point. "Can shopping ever be fun again?” Begged The Wall Street Journal in a recent article that featured the multi-day event, and its answer was “yes!" The trunk show, once a matter of designers hauling sample trunks to department stores so clients could preorder the coming season, has been quietly reinvented by City Country Beach. "Today's discerning clients want more than a transaction; they want an experience,” said City Country Beach co-founder Lizzi Bickford Meadow. As customers move beyond major cities, the most compelling moments in luxury shopping happen by invitation alone, in private homes, luxury hotels, and clubs.
City Country Beach, which has been ahead of the shift in retail for more than six years, understands the powerful impact that experiences have on the customer, and ultimately define their relationship with a luxury brand. "It's not just a bunch of racks and clothing,” Jaimee Marano Lunderborg recently told The Wall Street Journal. At this level, customers don't need another item in their closet; the items purchased at a City Country Beach experience become a luxury souvenir from a day well spent. We believe luxury isn't simply about the product or who's in the room, but how the experience makes someone feel."
CCB PERKS | MORE IS MORE
CCB’s community of VIPs is invited to enjoy VIP services including on-site personal styling sessions, product personalization, luxury gifting, and more. For those unable to attend but who would like to shop the collection, remote shopping is available. Email rsvp@citycountrybeach.com to schedule a virtual appointment.
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