POPSUGAR: I loved the inspiration behind your fall collection as someone who shares special memories with my grandmother. What does it say about your vision for the way we'll dress post-pandemic?
Brandon Maxwell: Our focus pre and post-pandemic is to make everybody feel good in fashion. I'm not here to say what you should or shouldn't wear. I'm here to give you the option to be whoever you want to be.
With the fall collection, this was the first collection where I didn't think about trends. The show was a very private love letter to someone who's been very important in my life. She's been in my advertising campaigns and walked in my shows.
Having her diagnosed with a disease where she can't remember has been isolating. The process of weaving her into work has allowed me to confront it, and it made the experience beautiful. It wasn't meant to be overtly forward. It was meant to reflect the textures and silhouettes we loved together, that were of another time.
I'll do everything it takes to honor her in a way that she deserves. Put her name in front of everybody to honor [her] in the way that she honored me. That's what the experience of fashion is for me. It has taught and given me so much, and it was the way my grandma and I communicated. It's about community.
