After nearly five years designing and selling exclusively through fast-fashion giant SHEIN, designer Chanel Scales is taking the biggest leap of her career — and reclaiming full creative control. Her new venture, MAX WERA by Shingo Label, is a contemporary womenswear brand rooted in craftsmanship, growth, and fearless creativity.
Earlier this month, Scales was preparing to debut her highly anticipated summer collection through the SHEIN X Designer Program when an unexpected email arrived in her inbox from SHEIN, stating, “The company’s designer program was being restructured, and those hoping to stay on would need to reapply.”
“It was heartbreaking,” Scales recalls. “I had already told the world the collection was coming, and just like that — everything stopped. But instead of going backward, I finally started the plan I had been putting off.”
Not reapplying to SHEIN’s designer program wasn’t from doubt about her abilities. Scales had sold over 5,000 units during her time with the platform.
“After four years of earning only 10% of the sales and seeing how easily major changes could be made without informing designers, I knew it was time to move forward. My work resonated with customers, and I’m proud of that. But I needed more transparency, stability, and control over my own vision,” she said.
That plan became MAX WERA, a more elevated, intentional evolution of her original line, Shingo Label. If Shingo was the vibrant, experimental younger sister, MAX WERA is her sophisticated, self-assured counterpart — refined silhouettes, conscious design choices, and an emphasis on timeless pieces built to last.
Under SHEIN’s restructured program, designers were asked to submit past work for review before a committee would decide who stayed on. For Scales, the uncertainty — and the sudden halt to her summer collection — was the final push.
“I realized I no longer wanted to be part of a program where a whole season could be canceled overnight,” she reflects. “That unpredictability made it hard to plan and grow sustainably.”
Launched with zero outside investment, MAX WERA is fully owned and operated by Scales — a rare and increasingly radical move in today’s fashion ecosystem. Its debut offering, a Summer 2025 teaser capsule, will be available exclusively at shopmaxwera.com.
“This isn’t about trends or hype,” Scales insists. “It’s about building something lasting. It’s about creating without compromise.”
With MAX WERA, Chanel Scales joins a growing chorus of independent designers rejecting the volatility of mass platforms in favor of sustainable, self-directed growth. She’s proof that when one door closes, another can open — as long as you’re willing to build the frame yourself.
