Walmart debuts new private fashion brand Free Assembly, a trendy label for both men and women and the retailer's latest effort to become a bonafide 'fashion destination'

• Walmart today announced the launch of Free Assembly, a new private fashion label for men and women featuring stylish essentials between $9 and $45.
• Denise Incandela, Walmart's senior vice president of elevated and online brands, said in a statement that the debut of Free Assembly demonstrates that the big-box retailer is serious about becoming a bonafide "fashion destination."

Walmart is going all in on fashion.

The big-box retailer announced on Monday the debut of Free Assembly, a new private label clothing brand led by retail veteran Dwight Fenton and developed by an in-house design team. According to Walmart, the fashion line is intended to be "a modern fashion brand that offers elevated style essentials at an incredible value," including basics and "wardrobe staples that are easy to mix, layer and assemble freely."

Available for both men and women, the fall collection features a total of 55 pieces — all priced between $9 and $45 — as Walmart continues to stay true to its low-cost, bargain roots. In addition to essentials like T-shirts and jeans, Free Assembly also includes an array of trendy blazers, bomber jackets, and flowy maxi dresses.

Denise Incandela, Walmart's senior vice president of elevated and online brands, said in a statement that the launch of Free Assembly demonstrates how dedicated the big box retailer is to becoming a bonafide "fashion destination," adding that the label is slated to become "a new kind of brand that would entice any fashion shopper."

"Through our ongoing strategy of expanding our assortment for our customers, we've shown that we're serious about establishing Walmart as a fashion destination," she said. "And, now we're doubling-down to offer customers something they couldn't find at Walmart before — a fashion essentials-inspired brand for both men and women created by our in-house design team."

Free Assembly marks the latest foray into fashion for Walmart, which has amped up various private label efforts in recent years touting low-cost collections to help it stay competitive against peers like Target and Amazon. The company has also worked to build clout by bringing on big names, including Sofia Vergara, who launched an exclusive line of jeans with the retailer in February 2019.

In May, Walmart took its dedication to fashion a step further when it teamed with the online resale company ThredUp to start selling select pre-owned clothing, footwear, and handbags at stores around the country.

"Over the last few years, we've focused on expanding our assortment of quality, on-trend, accessible fashion to help customers outfit themselves no matter their personal style or budget," Incandela said in May.

Fenton — who previously held design positions at Walmart-owned Bonobos as well as J.Crew, and Old Navy — said his team is focused on democratizing fashionable looks by developing stylish pieces for less with Free Assembly. After working for Bonobos, he said he was attracted to Walmart's dedication to building out its fashion business and was impressed at its willingness to take risks, citing its recent revival of the beloved New York fashion brand Scoop.

"I've had a front row seat to the transformation happening in Walmart's fashion business," Fenton said in a statement. "I've been really impressed with the aggressive strategy to diversify the product offering through new brand launches and strategic partnerships."