Walmart’s fashion brands Free Assembly, Scoop look to the runway
Walmart is continuing to elevate its own brand apparel, looking to the runway for its latest move.
The retailer is collaborating for the first time with a well-known American fashion designer, tapping Brandon Maxwell to be the creative director of its Free Assembly and Scoop brands.
Maxwell has made a name designing high-end, red carpet gowns and runway stylings, and will design seasonal collections for men’s, women’s and children’s clothes, as well as accessories under the Free Assembly and Scoop private brands. Walmart debuted Free Assembly last fall, and recently launched a spring lookbook for its spring collection, furthering the seriousness it is taking in the trendy fashion line. Scoop is an older fashion boutique that Walmart revived as an own brand in 2019. In addition to developing pieces for the two store brands, Maxwell will be involved in brand marketing initiatives and campaigns for them.
The first collection that Maxwell will oversee is the holiday 2021 collection, and annually he will oversee four seasonal collections for the two store brands. In Spring 2022, his full collections will arrive for the brands.
“Working with Walmart has long been a dream of mine. Like many people across the country who live in a small town, Walmart was the destination for everything where I grew up in Texas, including clothing,” Maxwell said. “This partnership allows me to bring the experience and joy of fashion to countless people who live in small towns across the country. Everyone deserves to have access to well-designed clothing at an accessible price point. I am energized by this collaboration with Walmart, as it is not only an opportunity to make exceptional design accessible to all but with our charitable initiatives, we will work to help people improve their lives. That is after all the most fashionable thing we can do.”
Maxwell was raised in Longview, Texas, and has made a career in fashion with his eponymous brand.
“Brandon is a powerhouse in the fashion industry. His designs are beautiful, youthful, timeless and expertly tailored,” said Denise Incandela, executive vice president of apparel and private brands at Walmart. “Our shared fashion values of accessibility and commitment to incredible design and quality make him an ideal partner for Walmart. Bringing his distinctive design talent to our elevated brand collections of Free Assembly and Scoop, allows Walmart to offer customers stylish, high-quality fashion at an extraordinary value.”
Timed with the announcement of this collaboration, Maxwell has designed exclusive face masks being sold at Walmart and the retailer has donated $100,000 to donorschoose.org, a charity selected by Maxwell for its focus on helping public school teachers get funding for materials.