Celebrity stylist-turned-designer Brandon Maxwell on his best friend Lady Gaga and conquering the red carpet
Lady Gaga wearing Brandon Maxwell at the Oscars Credit: Getty
When I was introduced to Brandon Maxwell, Lady Gaga's stylist (or to use his official title 'fashion director') and one of the hottest designers to emerge from New York Fashion Week in years, at a private suite in Harvey Nichols I was prepared to meet a flamboyant 'fashion' character. Wearing jeans and a grey jumper and shuffling his thick square glasses on and off, he politely asked if I wouldn't mind if he ate a croissant while we talked. Brandon Maxwell isn't what you'd expect from Lady Gaga's stylist - he is modest, mild-mannered and is most passionate when talking about his grandparents in Texas. But then again, his clothes aren't what you'd expect from Lady Gaga's stylist either.
What is striking about the rail displaying his latest collection in the corner of the room is just how elegant and expensive-looking his aesthetic is. The aim of the label is to create modern uptown tailoring that can be worn again and again. Instead of attention-seeking statement pieces, each collection is built around black gowns, tailored ivory jumpsuits, sleek tuxedo jackets and wide-leg trousers.
A tailored look from Brandon Maxwell's SS17 collection Credit: Rex
When he showed his first collection at New York Fashion Week three seasons ago it was billed as 'Lady Gaga's stylist's debut', but the quality of the collection means this has become more than just another celebrity-endorsed label. Michelle Obama, Naomi Campbell, Kerry Washington and Karlie Kloss have all worn his Old Hollywood-inspired eveningwear to high profile events, but he has also been praised by the critics. He received the prestigious CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear in 2016 - a real coup for such a new label.
This rapid rise can hit home at the most inopportune moments. "I get very scared before the show," he reveals. "We usually show in restaurants and I'm in the kitchen and get almost like I'm going to pass out, so I have to be alone. It has been such a great year and I'm very blessed so I don't want to let people down. I don't care so much if people say bad things about me because I understood very clearly going into this that if they haven't already they will eventually - but it was such a small show the first time with so many loving caring people who supported me and had been in my life for so long, and I just have such a fear of letting them down so when the show starts that fear really rises up in me."
Brandon Maxwell with Lady Gaga after the show Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
One person who helps when he "shuts down" backstage is his client and 'best friend' Lady Gaga. Not only is she on the front row each season, but she also helps to keep order backstage. "She's really good at doing shows, that's what she does for a living," he says. "So she's really very calm in that environment so she is better backstage than me and is very good at organising and talking to people and getting the girls ready for the line-up. When I start to shut down, she is like a superwoman stepping in."
She might be one of the biggest musicians in the world, but Maxwell says that their friendship is like any other. "I think it's interesting for people because obviously she's famous, but to me she's just my best friend," he says. "So she is involved all year long in the way that any of your best friends would be involved in your life. We show each other what we are working on throughout the year, and I try to always get my girlfriend's opinions and say 'would you wear this? or not?'"
Lady Gaga at Brandon Maxwell's SS17 show Credit: Rex
On why he's not interested in the glamorous side of the industry...
Despite calling Lady Gaga his 'best friend' and living in New York, Maxwell tells me he isn't interested in the glamorous side of the industry: "I don’t think I’m the most fashionable person, I don’t live the most fashionable life, but I have always been enamored with women and seeing them at their happiest and most beautiful. I think a lot of that comes from literally being in a changing room in my grandmother's store as a kid. She was a buyer and personal shopper at a store in my town so I spent every day after school there and she still sells clothes today."
His grandmother is still his biggest fan and sits on the front row along from Lady Gaga each season. "At the show there are security passes with your name on, and this year it was black with my name and then she wore it everywhere in New York for three days because she was so proud. I was like ‘pleeease take it off that is so embarrassing, there is no security here!’" he jokes.
Michelle Obama wears Brandon Maxwell on a visit to Singapore Credit: Getty Images
On the key to dressing for the red carpet...
Brandon Maxwell has already become a king of the red carpet, but it's no great surprise that he understands how to create clothes that work in photographs, given his background in styling which gives him a clear edge when it comes to awards season.
"I am very comfortable on the red carpet because it is where I started as a stylist and the key to anything whether it is red carpet or in stores is that women feel beautiful," explains Maxwell. "I have a relationship with every woman who has worn my clothes on the red carpet and we work on it together and try to give her something that she feels comfortable in. I always say it’s not the most important thing for me that when a woman steps onto a carpet everyone is wowed by the dress, I grew up surrounded by women and have a lot of women in my life and the most important thing for me is always that when she gets out of the car the woman feels like herself and the dress doesn’t overpower her."
Maxwell is keen to stress that he wants his customers to have exactly this feeling too: "I want to make sure everyone feels the best as there's nothing better when you spend your money and come back and think 'that was totally worth it because I feel amazing'... and every once in a while when I wear real pants I have that feeling too!"
Karlie Kloss in Brandon Maxwell at the Met Gala Credit: Getty Images
Red carpet styling has made him appreciate the importance of tailoring...
His background in styling has had a clear impact on his aesthetic, mainly manifesting in a focus on tailoring. "This is a key aspect of our brand and very important in styling where you always meet with the person you’re working with and have fittings," the designer says of how styling has impacted his designs. "I have grown up doing that so it feels natural for me in the collection. Even as a stylist I was always designing things, whether in my mind or with whatever I had around so it was quite a seamless transition for me."
Maxwell continues: "Being a stylist I have seen so many other aspects of the industry and am thankful for my career as an assistant in my 20s [for Deborah Afshani, Edward Enninful and Nicola Formichetti] because it taught me a lot of discipline to be able to work at this pace."
Naomi Campbell wears Brandon Maxwell at the MTV VMAs Credit: Getty
His celebrity clients have accepted his unconventional approach to fittings...
When discussing the process of creating red carpet dresses, Maxwell says that he is grateful that the likes of Karlie Kloss and Naomi Campbell have understood his unique approach to fittings. "I don't sketch," he explains. "So I just start with a roll of fabric on the woman or on the form and do various shapes and designs. Then either I speak with her by text or in the studio and we sit and do it together. It is a different process draping it on the woman, instead of presenting a sketch, but it's not the way my mind works." Lady Gaga's ivory jumpsuit she wore to the Oscars might be one of the stand out moments in Maxwell's career, but it was a very relaxed decision for her to wear this. "She saw the sweetheart neckline backstage at my show and said 'I think I want that with pants and longer', and that conversation was just in the car on the way to dinner."
Brandon Maxwell with Naomi Campbell at the CFDA Awards Credit: Rex
He knows the pieces his customers keep coming back for...
The designer explains that now he is working towards his fourth season, he is focusing on building on the best-selling pieces he has created so far and will never veer to far away from his classic aesthetic. "My body type is not the easiest to dress and so when I find something that works to it I buy it season after season because I know the fit is right for me," he explains. "So that's something I go into each season thinking about. I know now the things the customers have responded to and what they have loved, so rather than before where I designed from the ground up with whatever I wanted, now there are parts of the collection that I make sure when my customers look online they see their piece there."
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Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/brands/celebrity-stylist-turned-designer-brandon-maxwell-on-his-best-fr/
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