Maximilian Davis: the new designer making a big impact for SS21

“I remember telling my dad that I would never wear a suit, and that I didn’t like tailoring,” laughs the Manchester-born designer Maximilian Davis, whose lauded debut collection for SS21 ironically includes strict suit jackets with sharp shoulders, leg-lengthening tailored pants and red-carpet-worthy evening dresses playfully urbanized with slashed skirts and cut-out racer backs.

Davis is the buzzy new name on the London fashion scene. Having launched his brand digitally with Fashion East in September last year, his brand quickly garnered traction for its seamless blending of femininity with androgyny, and wearability with sexiness. His tops contain daring cutouts, while blazers with oversized proportions are sculpted at the waist to purposefully enhance the female silhouette. “The pockets are placed on the waistline, which makes the waist seem smaller,” Davis says of this conscious approach, likely influenced by his older sister, who used to make her own clothes. “It’s a bit more flattering than just wearing a man’s jacket.”

Early sartorial influences clearly became fruitful inspiration for Davis: his dad wore a suit every day, even on vacation, while his mother had a personal tailor. His sister’s homemade clubbing outfits, meanwhile, manifested themselves into his collection in the form of micro-mini hemlines. Raised in Manchester by his Jamaican-born father and Trinidadian-born mother, he spent his vacations in the Caribbean, where his sisters would go “from the beach to the bar”. He was also endlessly inspired by his grandmother. “I was always aware of her trying to look her best and trying to make a good impression,” he says. “She taught me that you can represent yourself through clothing.”

Indeed, in an interview with PORTER in November, Wales Bonner enthused, “Maximilian Davis just launched his brand recently, which I was so impressed by. It was really impactful… I don’t think I felt when I started out that I could talk to or approach people, but I think there’s that spirit of generosity and people wanting to support. A lot of work that many people are doing right now is also to create possibilities for future generations.”

Davis says he learned from Wales Bonner’s fastidious research, which has been known to take her from Black history and academic texts to art pieces. She encouraged him to not follow trends or pigeonhole himself, which manifests in his uncompromisingly juxtaposing aesthetic – glamorous evening dresses sit seamlessly alongside get-up-and-go blazers. “There’s different parts of my brand: there’s the tailoring and then there’s the denim and printed pieces. I design with both the younger generation and more mature clients in mind.”

His moodboard references are just as broad-ranging. This season, he began with music by Miles Davis, spanned into the culture of carnival and Trinidadian history, and was later influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement. “I wanted to talk about Black elegance,” he says. “I use tailoring to send that message. There’s so much happening in the world that’s opened so many people’s eyes, and people are really wanting to learn about different cultures and understand them. I wouldn’t say I’m an amazing speaker or writer, but I feel like I powerfully translate my culture through my designs. I hope my clothing makes people feel empowered.”