Brandon Maxwell is busy. The celebrated designer, who boasts fans like Meghan Markle, Kristen Stewart, Lady Gaga, and Blake Lively, debuted his fall 2022 collection at New York Fashion Week, immediately followed by launches for Walmart's Scoop and Free Assembly brands where he serves as creative director.
Though a Walmart collection may seem like an unexpected move for the red carpet-friendly designer, Maxwell tells POPSUGAR that it was a natural career progression. "I'm a lifelong Walmart shopper and continue to be," he says. "It's always been a dream to work with Walmart. Everybody deserves fashion at an accessible price."
Both collections are available in Walmarts across the country, but Maxwell is especially sentimental about the Texas store. Born in Longview, Texas, where his grandmother owned a boutique, he views the experience as a full-circle moment. "I wanted to bring it back to the community where I come from," says the 37-year-old designer. "It was exciting to see my family last night trying things on, texting me what their favorite things are."
I wanted to bring it back to the community where I come from.
While the launch marks a new partnership, Maxwell insists that the design process is similar to his work on his eponymous line. "You think about the Walmart clothes being in so many more stores, which is super cool," he says. "But the day-to-day isn't very different. I've been lucky to know a new team. That's what fashion has always been for me: family, working with family."
Family also served as the inspiration for Brandon Maxwell's fall 2022 collection, which he presented as a "love letter" to his ailing grandmother, who is battling Alzheimer's disease. "Weaving her into the work has allowed me to confront [her illness], and it was a beautiful experience," he says, adding that the blanket shawls and cozy fabrics were "meant to reflect the textures and silhouettes we loved together that were of another time."
Read on for more on Brandon Maxwell's vision for Scoop and Free Assembly, the personal significance of his fall 2022 collection, and his thoughts on diversity on and off the runway.