Lady Gaga is just as well known for her fashion as she is for her music.
At the 2010 MTV Music Video Awards she wore that meat dress. Since then she’s been seen wearing a coat made out of Kermit the Frog body parts, an entire jumpsuit made of fishnets, and a dress that produces its own bubbles, to name a few outfits. She’s been seen in countless more adventurous outfits that continue to attract the public eye.
But lately, the star has added a bit more sophistication to her bold style. Meet the Texan responsible for Lady Gaga’s style: Brandon Maxwell.
Apart from creating Lady Gaga’s look, he’s started his own fashion line that’s been spotted on other celebrity figures – Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman and Kristen Wiig, for example.
Maxwell is now based in New York City, but he’s a Texan at heart, from Longview.
“I’m really proud of being from Texas,” he says. “I wasn’t desperate to get out. Of course, I was creative growing up, so in a small town… there weren’t that many opportunities for what I was interested in doing.”
As a younger child, Maxwell spent most of his days after school at a clothing store where his grandmother worked as a buyer. He went on to study photography at St. Edwards University.
“I wasn’t really a fine art photographer,” Maxwell says. “I was mostly staying up all night making dresses on girls, and then doing the hair and the makeup myself, and then taking the pictures. Obviously being a designer was always my end goal, but I’ve taken of important steps to get there.”
Lady Gaga has called him a partner in style and design. He says he doesn’t dictate what she wears, but they collaborate and create designs together.
“We found each other when we were younger and we’ve really grown together,” he says. “If we weren’t doing this the way we’re doing it now, we probably would have been 13 in whatever town we were together creating in the same way. It’s one of the greatest relationships in my life.”
Maxwell says he has plans to spend more time in Texas. He says he and his dad talk about it almost every day.
“Once I’m traveling a lot and working a lot, I always try to go back to Texas and spend a good amount of time there because it clears my mind,” he says. “That’s where I find my most inspiration.”
