Introduction
Brandon Maxwell is an American fashion designer, director, photographer, and stylist. He is the founder of Brandon Maxwell, the luxury women’s ready-to-wear label. Since 2012, Maxwell has acted as Lady Gaga’s fashion director. He is represented by IMG.
Early life
Brandon Maxwell was born in Longview, Texas, where immaculately dressed women surrounded him at an early age. His grandmother worked at a boutique in Longview, where he often spent his time. The women who passed through the boutique captivated Maxwell with their distinct styles. As a young boy, he would put together outfits, photographing his friends in them. In 2004, he moved to New York to study at Marymount Manhattan College before transferring to St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas at age twenty. While there, he studied photography, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Photo Communications. Maxwell returned to New York at age twenty-three to begin working.
Life and career
Prior to launching his eponymous womenswear label, Brandon Maxwell’s introduction to the fashion industry was as a stylist. He began assisting Deborah Afshani in 2009, followed by Nicola Formichetti in 2010, where he was introduced to Lady Gaga, as Nicola was her stylist at the time. In 2012, Maxwell took on the role as Lady Gaga’s fashion director.
Maxwell has styled for magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, V, Teen Vogue, and Porter. He has done ad campaigns for Barneys New York and Uniqlo. He was cited by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the top 25 stylists of 2015. Maxwell has collaborated with photographers such as Mario Testino, Inez & Vinoodh, Paola Kudacki, Giampaolo Sgura, Terry Richardson, and Steven Klein. In 2015, Maxwell débuted his Women’s Ready-to-Wear label, Brandon Maxwell, in New York at Mr. Chow. The brand was born out of the desire to make women feel beautiful, sophisticated, and powerful by creating timeless garments that are impeccably tailored. With a focus on craftsmanship, the entire collection is designed and produced in New York City. Brandon’s integrity is present throughout the process; he crafts his garments by draping rather than sketching to insure an ideal fit. Inspiration is drawn from the women whom Brandon surrounds himself with, which is evident from the sharp tailoring to the sculptural details.
Many influential women, including Michelle Obama, Karlie Kloss, Jennifer Lawrence, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, Queen Rania of Jordan, and Kerry Washington, among many others, wear the brand. The collection is currently sold in 80 retail stored around the world, including Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Moda Operandi, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, and Neiman Marcus. In 2016, Maxwell was awarded the 2016 Fashion Group International Rising Star Award for Womenswear, the 2016 the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear, and was named a finalist for the 2016 LVMH Prize.
While pursuing his degree in photo communications, Maxwell met friend and collaborator, Jessy Price. In school they worked on projects, and continue to today through photographing and directing. Together, Brandon and Jessy photographed and directed the short film for the Brandon Maxwell Fall/Winter 2016 campaign. The success of this project lead them to directing Apple Music’s commercial for Lady Gaga’s song “A-Yo” from her 2016 album Joanne. Their most recent directorial and photo collaboration was for the Brandon Maxwell Spring/Summer 2017 campaign. The film for the collection, Ebony, followed model Riley Montana, adorned in Brandon Maxwell, through her home in Detroit, showing vignettes of her family and celebrating the women who influenced her. It ultimately pointed back to Brandon’s reverence for women through attentive design.
