When milestones like 10 years in business come around, it prompts some reflection. Brandon Maxwell has reached such a juncture, and the always thoughtful designer was in an even more contemplative mood than usual during a showroom visit. “It’s taken me 10 years to even know what the hell I’m doing,” he laughed a bit ruefully. Looking back over Maxwell’s archive, it looks like he figured out what he was doing about two-and-a-half years ago. Pre-fall 2023 marks a sharp break from—let’s call them—youthful enthusiasms like color, print, and Texas-sized drama.

Since that 2023 collection, he’s embraced a sexy, yet almost austere kind of minimalism, It’s rooted in black, white, and neutral-toned sportswear separates, urban but with athletic undertones. Resort continues in this vein. “I’ve been revisiting, recultivating a nonchalance,” he said. “Everything is always in the spirit of my heroes: Ralph [Lauren], Halston, these sort of American classics.”

It starts with tailoring, which he’s loosened up, cutting roomy trenches with oversize sleeves and floppy epaulettes that dip below the shoulders, and bombers with drawstring waistbands to adjust their proportions. Maxwell modeled a blouson jacket with an adjustable cowled neckline during a walkthrough, pointing out that it can also be worn over the head like a hood or with one sleeve off the shoulder. He also called attention to a checked mac with only one seam, at the collar; all the others are heat sealed— the coat’s interior looks just as sharp as its exterior.

On the casual end, he deconstructed denim for a fit and flare skirt and cut a traditional jean jacket in cowhide—“each one will be one-of-a-kind,” he said. For dressy occasions, he cut a streamlined dress with delicate straps extending from a double-triangle neckline. It’s a long way from his ball gown days.