The Soft Animal of Your Body
Review of Brandon Maxwell Fall 2025 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Reflective. Austerely elegant. Quietly animal.
Entering your brand’s tenth year brings both challenge and excitement for any designer, but this season saw Brandon Maxwell face more than just an important milestone. In the days leading up to the debut of his Fall 2025 collection, he took to social media to open up about the mental health struggles he’s faced throughout his lifetime, which were recently compounded by a series of deep personal losses and an increasingly bleak political outlook for his country.
But more than anything, the collection proves that creative strength arises from honestly facing down loss and fear, rather than turning away.
That aspect of loss is most present in the collection’s color palette, which is dominated by black, gray, and ivory – an austere sophistication that extends to the elongated and sculptural silhouettes, the coats with necklines that transform into scarf and wrap almost like a veil. But Maxwell has always had a particularly strong sensitivity for American sportswear as a vision of a woman on the move, a woman who rises and achieves, and this sense of persistent strength is palpable as well. Layered cargo belts lend a utilitarian energy; leather brings the edge – even when it is softened by lace. Breaking the rules, stripes and plaid do go together. Animal prints – which on paper bring an organic aggression that doesn’t seem to fit the vision of the collection as a whole, yet come to be one of its most impactful and characteristic elements – are refined and reconsidered through rich material choices and trompe-l’oeil effects.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
As I walk toward my tenth year, I do so with a fighting spirit and a renewed commitment to myself. The intent of this collection mirrors this sentiment and represents the end of an incredibly transformative, years-long journey in my life and work, in which I have navigated the complex stages of grief and personal growth – a bridge to my future.”
THE WRAP UP
American designers are in a tough place. Not only are there fewer resources, investment, and attention on New York compared to the other major fashion cities that make it much harder to reach a tenth anniversary mark, but their country is actively going through a fascist coup that threatens the very things they stand for: unfettered personal expression, strength in diversity, a woman’s right to choose.
Brandon Maxwell affirms creativity and community as a defiant response to this impending darkness, digging deep and turning a place of loss into one of growth and connection. Safely cocooned in her animal-print coat, Brandon Maxwell’s woman is ready to roar.
