MAM
Max rethinks ‘size labels’ and introduces its new youth-centric brand Urban
Mumbai: A fashion conglomerate, Max Fashion announces the launch of Max Urban. Designed exclusively for the country’s burgeoning youth market, the brand aims to redefine style, self-expression, and the shopping experience for a youth market, Urban’s bold, progressive aesthetic product line is a reflection of today’s youth-confident, unapologetic and fearless!
The “Love Labels” brand campaign from Max Urban takes a bold and empowering approach to size and fit. Rather than perpetuating traditional size labels, the campaign dispenses with the concept entirely redefining them as affirmations of self-love and body positivity. The campaign film follows a narrative that celebrates the diverse and ever-changing shapes and sizes of people. The brand aims to help customers find clothes that fit them perfectly, creating a unique shopping experience that uplifts and empowers them. The traditional size abbreviations of “XS,” “S,” “M,” “L,” “XL,” and “2XL” have been reimagined as inspiring labels like “Xtra Special,” “Stunning,” “Magical,” “Lit,” “Xtra Lit,” and “Xtra Xtra Lit.”
Max Urban president & deputy CEO Sumit Chandna exclaims, “Size labels can be a source of self-confidence and positive self-image for many shoppers, especially youth. We have made efforts to offer a more inclusive range of sizes and to use language that is empowering. At Max Urban, our ‘Love Labels’ campaign transforms size tags into affirmations of self-love, empowering you to feel confident in what you wear.”
The inaugural Max Urban collection, inspired by casual, vacay prints and tranquil patterns, will be available across the brand’s 500+ dedicated retail stores as well as on the newly launched www.maxfashion.in e-commerce platform. With amazing prices starting from just 199 INR, this collection makes the brand accessible to a wide swath of young shoppers.
Love Labels will be available at select 50+ stores across major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Trivandrum, Calicut, Guwahati, and Bhubaneswar, offering international fashion at great prices. The brand is committed to continually expanding the reach of the Love Labels, with plans to scale up the number of stores in the year.
As Max Fashion continues to evolve and expand its portfolio Max Urban will play a pivotal role in driving the organisation’s expansion – solidifying its position as a trailblazer in the Indian fashion industry and introducing international styles to the market, championing aspirations of a new generation.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
