Review of Brandon Maxwell Fall 2023 Fashion Show
A Disciplined Palette of Jet Black, Warm White, and Shades of Brown, including Definitely Not-boring Beige
By Constance C.R. White
Unfussy, serene, and powerful. Brandon Maxwell made as strong a case as you’ll get these days for the power of minimalism.
For the most part sticking with a palette of just three or four hues – black, creamy white, and browns from chocolate to beige – he cooked up a satisfying feast which lovers of understated luxe will savor.

To move forward, you always have to look back and reassess what you can do better, but not dwell on it.
-Brandon Maxwell
He was just as locked in on shapes as he was on color. He chose volume in peplums, long shirt jackets, and even funky shorts. There were classic square-shouldered blazers and shearling jackets, sometimes paired with a long, billowy dress, other times the third piece in a tonal suit consisting of shirt, shorts, and jacket.
A couple of sexy waiter-length jackets bared the navel and came with a harness belt wrapped around bare skin, a subversive touch in an otherwise unusually nuanced collection.



There were plenty of stripped-down black dresses, one with an elongated keyhole, another with a silver zipper down the front, and a third winner with cold shoulders. The important shoe was a black slingback with a kitten heel, and models wore huge chrome baubles as bracelets and earrings.
In some regards, it was a return to Maxwell’s roots. “A lot of people think of me for eveningwear or the red carpet,” he said post-show. “But if you think back to my earlier collections, it was a black pants, a black jacket, and a black dress. It was always that.”



The precision cuts highlighted the plush fabrics, 90 percent of which were natural. We made a very conscious effort to have all-natural fabrics like cashmere, Alpaca wool mixes, and leathers, he said.
The collections have been peppered with a shade of burgundy or cognac in leather, colors that have been missing from trend-setting fashion for a while. However, women everywhere gravitate to them – trends be damned – as signifiers of fall. Maxwell delivered them handily in a floor-length dress and that three-piece shorts suit.
Searching for a new way to interpret his early signatures, he found it by making them feel more light and effortless. He learned some lessons and is “a little bit more educated just to revisit those collections,” he said.
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“The world’s been weird, but it’s actually been a good time for me to step away and reassess what success means for me,” Maxwell said. “For me, to move forward, you always have to look back and reassess what you can do better, but not dwell on it. Do you know what I mean?
Yes. It sounds like something that’s not only applicable to a designer but a sentiment that a good shrink might recommend to all of us navigating life, I suggest to Maxwell. “Yes,” he said, smiling. “I saw my therapist last night. So we’re good.” It was an appropriate note on which to end the presentation of a notable collection.