This A-List Designer Had His 81-Year-Old Grandmother Model His Clothes!

By Shivani Yadav on 18 Aug 2018

Brandon Maxwell is a famous American designer and stars like Lady Gaga and Naomi Campbell completely trust his work. Supermodels like Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss are generally the show-stoppers for his fashion shows and campaigns but he surprised everyone with his latest ad campaign which starred his 81-year-old grandmom, Louise Johnson.

More of our Fall/Winter 2018 Campaign image series, starring my Mammaw. Shot on her front porch in Longview, Texas wearing our cashmere drape collar coat and knot bracelets. This campaign was shot solely on film, with no digital equipment. We had one shot to take an authentic photo, and a hope that it would turn out. No easy feat and one which requires quite a bit of preparation and dedication, so thank you to every member of our team who encouraged and supported that process which ultimately made this moment more true for me. Full link to film via link in bio, insta stories, and IGTV. ❤️ Photography: @brandonmaxwell & @wonderfulboy Set Design: @rae_cur_ree Make-up: @kristinlroberts for @maccosmetics Photography Assistants: @lynnebowmancravens and @philkline Art Director: @linamw Post Production: @velem Executive Producer: Brandon Maxwell Studio Producer: @laurenpistoia #mammaw #brandonmaxwell

A post shared by Brandon Maxwell (@brandonmaxwell) on Aug 16, 2018 at 8:57am PDT

The entire ad campaign is very personal to Brandon. It was shot in his hometown Longview, Texas, inside his house. He revealed that the idea to shoot his grandmom actually came to him a year ago and he originally planned to include his other grandmother too but she sadly passed away.

'I just thought, Right now, I’m in a place in my life where I’m thinking a lot about who I am and where I’m from and what made me who I am, and very core to that story, obviously, is my grandmother,' he explained. 'I grew up in a clothing store with her—under a clothing rack, under the cash register…. She really pushed me to do what I do today. And I think that there’s no better way to honor that than giving her that space.'

The first in a series of our Fall/Winter Campaign images, starring my Mammaw. Shot in her bedroom in Longview, Texas wearing our boucle hoodie and crystal embroidered tulle ball skirt. I used to lay in this bed growing up and dream about what my life would look like, so this felt fitting. This campaign was shot solely on film, with no digital equipment. We had one shot to take an authentic photo, and a hope that it would turn out. No easy feat and one which requires quite a bit of preparation and dedication, so thank you to every member of our team who encouraged and supported that process which ultimately made this moment more true for me. Full link to film via link in bio, insta stories, and IGTV. ❤️ Photography: @brandonmaxwell & @wonderfulboy Set Design: @rae_cur_ree Make-up: @kristinlroberts for @maccosmetics Photography Assistants: @lynnebowmancravens and @philkline Art Director: @linamw Post Production: @velem Executive Producer: Brandon Maxwell Studio Producer: @laurenpistoia #mammaw #brandonmaxwell

A post shared by Brandon Maxwell (@brandonmaxwell) on Aug 16, 2018 at 6:01am PDT

This was not part of our regularly scheduled programming but I felt that the ball skirt needed an extra moment! Shot in her backyard in Longview, Texas wearing our classic skoal can tee and crystal embroidered tulle ball skirt, this is one in a series of images from our Fall/Winter 2018 Campaign starring my Mammaw. This campaign was shot solely on film, with no digital equipment. We had one shot to take an authentic photo, and a hope that it would turn out. No easy feat and one which requires quite a bit of preparation and dedication, so thank you to every member of our team who encouraged and supported that process which ultimately made this moment more true for me. Full link to film via link in bio, insta stories, and IGTV. ❤️ Photography: @brandonmaxwell & @wonderfulboy Set Design: @rae_cur_ree Make-up: @kristinlroberts for @maccosmetics Photography Assistants: @lynnebowmancravens and @philkline Art Director: @linamw Post Production: @velem Executive Producer: Brandon Maxwell Studio Producer: @laurenpistoia #mammaw #brandonmaxwell

A post shared by Brandon Maxwell (@brandonmaxwell) on Aug 16, 2018 at 7:17am PDT

The final in a series of our Fall/Winter Campaign images, starring my Mammaw. Shot in her backyard in Longview, Texas wearing our classic skinny jean, skoal can tee, and shearling bomber. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by in my lifetime where she hasn’t stood in that backyard in jeans watering those plants. This campaign was shot solely on film, with no digital equipment. We had one shot to take an authentic photo, and a hope that it would turn out. No easy feat and one which requires quite a bit of preparation and dedication, so thank you to every member of our team who encouraged and supported that process which ultimately made this moment more true for me. Full link to film via link in bio, insta stories, and IGTV. ❤️ Photography: @brandonmaxwell & @wonderfulboy Set Design: @rae_cur_ree Make-up: @kristinlroberts for @maccosmetics Photography Assistants: @lynnebowmancravens and @philkline Art Director: @linamw Post Production: @velem Executive Producer: Brandon Maxwell Studio Producer: @laurenpistoia #mammaw #brandonmaxwell

A post shared by Brandon Maxwell (@brandonmaxwell) on Aug 16, 2018 at 12:04pm PDT

The fashion world has always been controversial for not being diverse enough be it in matters of race, age or size. The conversation regarding this issue has been getting stronger in the past few years, and this campaign seems like a welcome addition to that.

In the end, we'll just leave you with these two videos that Brandon posted. They'll simply warm your heart.