Brandon Maxwell kicked off the first day of New York Fashion Week with two smart expressions of wearability.
First, he debuted a strong collection on the runway before welcoming guests to the next-door debut pop-up shop for Walmart Fashion’s Free Assembly and Scoop lines, which he’s overseen as creative director for more than three years.
“I always wanted to do them together, because it is what my life is,” Maxwell said during a preview. He emphasized that working on the retail giant’s collections has expanded the way he thinks about designing his namesake luxury label. Namely, Walmart’s broad customer range and scale has given him a “greater understanding of having a global business,” and therefore influenced him to “let go of a sense of control and understand that ease can be just as good.”
It was certainly good on the runway to the opening soundtrack of waves rolling in, with fresh propositions on Americana sportswear rooted in ease, lightness and versatility front and center.
Maxwell started with mannish staples — roomy gabardine garden coats and classic Henleys that would appeal to many. The coats, also in leather, proved to be an ideal topper for his mix of sheer viscose knits and cocooning blouses atop lightweight knit dresses with hand-done lasered chiffon floral fringes in baby blue or pink, pale yellow or black-and-white polka dots. Ditto atop a dazzling, deep V-neck hand-embroidered silver sequin and crystal dress, or more leisurely with white jeans.
Many prep-tinged looks, including crisp poplin shirts and caped and pleated knit polo dresses, were styled with vintage swimsuit-inspired knit underpinnings or with sweaters tied around the waist, “as a real woman would wear it,” he said. The sentiment rang true overall — soft Henley crop tops with folded tank dresses-as-skirts; tailoring cut in carry-on-friendly compact knit or a breezy nylon fabrication, which was especially appealing in the form of low-slung, embellished miniskirts. Even his sexy backless slipdresses evoked comfort and ease with knit waistbands.
“We’ve been talking a lot about real pieces, being able to envision on the runway these very real pieces, but still making sure that they’re very real for the customer,” he said of the lineup, styled with knit underpinnings; clear Lucite jewelry and belts, and clear fishing line sandals — heightening his modernized twists on classic American summer vibes.