There must be something golden about Brandon Maxwell‘s Texan charm, as the designer has swiftly become New York’s reigning fashion darling. Seriously, he only founded his brand in 2015 and is already reaping the benefits of his stellar status. This past September he received rave reviews for his Spring 2018 collection of feminine frocks, sophisticated denim and drop-dead glamorous dresses. Oh, and he signed a contract of his own with IMG Models, for projects both in and out of fashion.
Now, Maxwell is branching out with an e-commerce destination of his own. Well, sort of. Starting today, the adorable animal earrings from his Spring 2018 show will be available for pre-order in limited quantities on the designer’s website. Yes, you can recreate Karlie Kloss’ elegant look, glimmering zebra earring and all.
The range was created in collaboration with Lunch at the Ritz, a relatively obscure costume jewelry label designed by Zander Elliott. Maxwell saw a display case of his baubles during a trip to Hudson and knew that they were a good fit for the collection he was working on at the time, as they perfectly embodied the over-the-top ’80s vibe of his aesthetic.
“Our jewelry is an expression of our beliefs,” the Lunch at The Ritz website reads. “Women either love it, or they just don’t get it, and that’s okay. The reactions to our creations are pretty extreme. We have women who own hundreds of pairs of our earrings, and there are women who wouldn’t dream of buying even one.”
Maxwell, apparently, is one of those who just gets the Lunch at The Ritz aesthetic.
“The earrings felt like something I had seen all my life on my grandmother and my mom growing up in Texas,” he told the Observer. “I knew if we collaborated, we would be able to come up with something that felt modern and fresh and offered our customers that extra bit of glamour that they may be searching for outside of ready to wear items.”
The collaboration resulted in a zoo of glam animals, each of which is enamel-coated, dusted in crystals with gold settings and featuring a 24k gold backing. Each wild creature symbolizes the attributes of a Brandon Maxwell woman. “The owl stands for wisdom, the zebra for individuality, and the panther for courage,” the designer explained. In a way, these earrings also serve as a tribute to Maxwell’s late grandmother, who passed away in April of this year—in fact, the entire Spring 2018 range was dedicated to her. Maxwell got his first taste of glamorous fashion from his grandmother, when he would help her at Riff’s, a women’s boutique where she worked in Longview, Texas.
Maxwell is excited to offer his customer an item that goes beyond clothing—and we hope the designer’s foray into fanciful jewelry continues season after season. These earrings, which retail between $495 and $795, will only be available from October 23 to November 20 on the Brandon Maxwell website, so you’re going to want to get shopping ASAP.