Black History Month- Fashion Edition
Since it is Black History Month, I thought this would be an opportunity to highlight some of the black designers that are out there doing the damn thing. So, for every week of the month, I’ll focus on one particular designer. Hence, our first designer is none other than LaQuan Smith. I mean who better than to start off black history month than him.
For me, someone who is not privy to all the ins and outs of fashion, (say a small prayer that someday I will) it was like LaQuan Smith came out of nowhere and then you couldn’t stop hearing his name. First it was for Beyoncé’s On the Run Tour II, but I didn’t really pay as much attention as I should have because I thought he was more of a costume designer, instead of a ready to wear designer. It wasn’t until later when Hailey Bieber wore one of his dresses to meet the President of France, that suddenly, his name was on everyone’s lips and not just celebrities. Now don’t get your panties in a bunch and say oh so it took for Hailey Bieber to wear one of his dresses to propel him into mainstream popularity, nope that is not what I’m saying, what garnered so much attention was that yes, she did wear the dress, which is FIRE, but the dress itself brought the attention because it was considered a little too risqué to wear to a meeting with a foreign dignitary. I mean would you wear a dress with cutouts and the back out to meet the President or something more subdued? It was literally all about the dress.
LaQuan first developed his passion for fashion at the age of 13 when his grandmother gave him her old Singer sewing machine. He then attended and graduated from the High School of Art and Design. Afterwards, he applied for fashion school at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons the New School of Design, where he was rejected by both. Thankfully, that did not deter him and he continued designing. It was at the age of 21 when he started his brand, in his hometown of Queens, New York. Then, one night while out at a party before showing at Fashion Week he met Kelly Mills, a publicist who later showed his designs to Rihanna.
He made his New York Fashion Week debut in February of 2010 and then later showed a Spring-Summer Collection in September of the same year. For his 2011 New York Fashion Week appearance, he titled his collection ‘A Story Book Path’, that was inspired by Marie Antoinette, Cruella de Vil and Queen Elizabeth I. There were 2 very notable guest in attendance of that show, Andre Leon Talley (may he rest in peace) and legendary designer Diane Von Furstenberg, he had some celebrities to walk the show which included Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj, Christina Milian, and Cassie.
He formally debuted his brand in 2013 and was quickly supported by fashion icons Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga. He sums up his looks at “unapologetic sexiness”.
Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian all in LaQuan Smith
Speaking with Page Six Style, he told them “I think that a lot of times I’ve struggled because I was listening to fashion gatekeepers and listening to everyone’s opinions on what I should be doing and how I should be running my business or what I should be designing,” Smith said. “When I gained the confidence to just do what I love and to do what I know and to do it unapologetically, it worked! We’re in such a streetwear phase right now and I just feel like I am shouting and screaming that we need to bring sexy back — that old-school glamour, this new-age glamour, that is where LaQuan Smith is heading.”
He did just that and you could see it in his last New York Fashion Week show, which by the way was at the one and only Empire State building.
His clothing isn’t exactly in the affordable range, but they aren’t unattainable. His pieces start around the $500 mark and go up from there. You can purchase his clothing from the various fashion sites, Nordstrom, Revolve, Saks, FWRD, and others. I’m looking forward to seeing where his fashion career goes and how he is going to evolve as a designer.
“I wanted to design a collection that was embracing what I do and who I am. It’s a looking-good, feeling-good collection with the understanding and the ownership of the fact that we are a Black-owned luxury brand. So I wanted things to be as unapologetic and unique as possible, diving deeper into my truth as a designer.” —LaQuan Smith