Walmart recently released a pair of jeans priced at $30 that closely resemble designer brand Khaite’s $620 jeans, sparking widespread interest online. Designer Brandon Maxwell, who took over Walmart's fashion lines in 2021 and has created high-end clothing for celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, designed the cheaper version which includes larger sizes than the original. While some see this as a positive move that increases accessibility and promotes size diversity, others question the ethics of duplicating such a closely guarded design by a friend in the industry.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
This week, Walmart shoppers were surprised to find jeans priced at just $30 that closely resemble a high-end pair from Khaite, which retail for $620 and are favored by celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Rihanna. The Khaite jeans are designed by Catherine Holstein, who previously worked at Gap and Very Wang. In 2021, fashion designer Brandon Maxwell, a friend of Holstein's and known for designing couture for stars such as Jennifer Lawrence and Meghan Markle, took over Walmart’s Scoop and Free Assembly lines and created jeans nearly identical to Khaite's, including their signature black enamel buttons. Unlike the expensive Khaite version, which is limited in size, Maxwell’s Walmart jeans go up to a women’s 28, offering larger sizes at a much lower price point. While some fashion insiders praise the affordability and inclusivity of Maxwell’s design, others express concern over the similarity between his work for Walmart and Holstein's brand, given their friendship in a close-knit industry.
Written for “Walmart Jeans Imposter Design” on 2026-10-08,
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This week, Walmart shoppers flipped when they discovered a pair of $30 jeans that appeared to be a dead ringer for a $620 pair adored by Kendall Jenner and Rihanna.
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that → flip → Jenner
The original pants are from Khaite, a 10-year-old label by Soho art darling Catherine Holstein, who previously worked at Gap and Very Wang.
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who → work → Gap
Enter Walmart designer Brandon Maxwell, a fashion buddy of Holstein’s who has moonlit as a Project Runway judge.
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who → enter → judge
After taking over Walmart’s Scoop and Free Assembly lines in 2021, the designer — who has created couture for Jennifer Lawrence and Meghan Markle — duped Khaite’s fashion-famous jeans, right down to their signature black enamel buttons.
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who → take → buttons
Online, Maxwell’s denim for Walmart goes up to a women’s 28 — more than twice the size of Khaite’s thin-spiration.
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denim → go → spiration
At $30, it also costs just 5% of Holstein’s premium pants.
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it → cost → pants
Maxwell has always been an advocate for size diversity, regularly including larger models at his celeb-jammed fashion shows and telling Bustle that he’s been making plus-size clothes “from day one.”
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he → include → day
He added, “Our job is to make women feel good.
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women → add → ?
If you have a problem doing that, with any type of woman, then you should not be doing this job.”
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you → have → job
The $30 dupe jeans have sparked a fashion frenzy, with sources inside the brand telling The Post that they “cannot restock them fast enough” online.
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they → spark → them
Stella Kittrell, a plus-size model and influencer, bought “every shade” of the Khaite dupes.
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Kittrell → buy → dupes
“All my plus-sized luxury girlies are going to be so excited,” she said.
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she → go → ?
“Walmart, you outdid yourselves.”
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you → outdo → yourselves
“A win is a win,” conceded luxury fashion consultant Casey Morrow Lewis, who runs the popular Substack newsletter After School, which tracks Gen Z spending habits.
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which → concede → habits
She noted on TikTok that the washes appear “almost completely identical” according to shoppers.
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washes → note → shoppers
Still, some fashion insiders are raising eyebrows that the Walmart jeans are so close to Khaite’s original, black-buttoned version — especially because the two designers are friends.
“Fashion is such a small world,” a top publicist, who has worked with both Brandon Maxwell and Catherine Holstein, told The Post.
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who → raise → Post
“They know each other.
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They → know → other
They’re friendly.
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They → ’re → ?
They’ve been up for the same industry awards and go to the same dinners and parties.
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They → go → dinners
And now he goes and dupes her?
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he → go → her
It feels petty.”
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It → feel → ?
“It’s almost like Brandon is saying, ‘Hey Cate, this is so easy, even Walmart can do it,'” said a top stylist, who asked for anonymity because she regularly works with the notoriously private Khaite brand.
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she → ’ → brand
She said the black enamel buttons on the jeans — known as a Khaite signature — are especially eyebrow-raising, at least if one views them pre-Botox.
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one → say → Botox
“He’s kind of trolling her.”
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He → troll → her
But Lewis insisted the move is actually good for both Maxwell and Holstein.
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move → insist → Maxwell
“Khaite is very well known among fashion people but it is hardly a household name.
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it → know → people
Plenty of people are hearing about Khaite for the first time through the dupe…
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Plenty → hear → dupe
Walmart [is] helping establish Khaite as a brand to aspire to.”
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Walmart → help → brand
Ironically, Walmart also sells Khaite handbags at a discount — this popular studded Elena bag is currently at the big-box paradise for $800 off.
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bag → sell → 800
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