Brandon Maxwell chose Sotheby’s as the stage for his Spring/Summer 2026 show for his tenth anniversary. Known as a house where history, art, and value converge, Sotheby’s provided the perfect backdrop for a designer who has spent the past decade redefining American fashion with a cocktail of glamour, wit, and precision. The venue underscored the spirit of the evening; this was not a conventional runway but a curated exhibition, where clothes and accessories were presented as objects of desire and, more importantly, of permanence. While his collection commanded attention, the bags became the true talking points, each one rendered with a mischievous sense of theatre and unapologetic luxury.
A Newspaper Turned Icon
Few designers can transform something as ordinary as newsprint into couture. Maxwell’s slim hand-held purse, designed to mimic the New York Times masthead, felt like a witty ode to the city that shaped him. Clever, chic, and instantly collectable, it transformed headlines into a headline of its own.
Snakeskin in Miniature
The snakeskin mini shoulder bag proved that scale does not diminish impact. Its compact proportions were balanced by a decadent texture and architectural lines, creating an object that felt timeless yet entirely of the moment, the kind of accessory that moves effortlessly from a front-row seat to a midnight supper in SoHo.
The Gold Lock Box
Gleaming like jewellery, Maxwell’s structured lock-box purse embodied luxury in its purest form. With polished hardware and a slender chain strap, it resembled a modern treasure chest, designed less for utility and more as an emblem of personal style. For today’s collector generation, it captured the very essence of fashion-as-identity.
The Bottle Carrier
Extravagant, playful, and ever so slightly irreverent, the transparent bottle carrier, complete with a silk scarf, was theatre in motion. In Maxwell’s hands, even the act of carrying became an art form, turning the everyday into performance.
Dining To Go
The pièce de résistance was a surrealist fantasy: a clear hard-frame case that opened to reveal a perfectly set dining table, cutlery included. Humorous yet immaculately crafted, it blurred the line between accessory and installation. It didn’t simply ask what a handbag could hold; it asked what kind of narrative it could create.
Brandon Maxwell’s tenth anniversary show was a reminder that true luxury lies not only in materials or craft, but in the audacity of imagination. At a moment when pared-back minimalism dominates the global runway, his bags stood out as bold, witty, and undeniably original artefacts that define an era while daring to become tomorrow’s heirlooms.
