Next year, Brandon Maxwell’s eponymous label will turn 10 — an accomplishment any time, but especially for us, independent designers facing tough obstacles — and he’s seeing his debut collections as a What resonates decades later. He was a minimalist early on, and he’s still a minimalist, but this collection’s attitude is a far cry from his circa-2015 debut.
Swapping styling gigs for design studios, her early aesthetic was built to the extreme. His first show featured his client Lady Gaga in the front row. Here, he de-emphasizes the glamor that is associated with his work “in service of getting something real, of getting down to reality,” he explained in his Flatiron showroom.
The starting point of the collection was a blouson-y faded denim jacket. Although in the photo it is styled over a long chiffon dress, in real life, he expects his clients to wear it with the low-waisted, crotch khakis that will appear later in the lookbook. With their snap-front waistband, they’re as casual as any pant they’re shown, and they’re a nice complement to an asymmetrical ribbed black T-shirt with rhodium hardware on one shoulder. He created similar “knots” in 18-karat gold plate, as well as custom buttons in the shape of mini macaroons.
In search of “something more casual and easy”, her latest runway collection went a little undone; This created a better balance. Pinstripes were cut into a waisted short jacket and trousers, and pinstripes were draped over the bias for an off-the-shoulder dress. A bomber in soft nappa leather and a “biker jacket” cardigan in high-rib cashmere. And organza is separated from metallic thread for a crushed texture that emphasizes their ease. “It has to evolve,” he said, “because I evolve.”
