in 2017 in Nigeria LaQuan Smith (born August 30, 1988) is a luxury

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

er and founder of womenswear clothing brand LaQuan Smith, LLC. Smith serves as chief executive officer and is based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Early life

Smith was born on August 30, 1988, in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York. As he grew up, he developed a passion for fashion and design. He further developed his passion at the age of 13 when his grandmother passed on her old

Singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

sewing machine for him to use. From there, he began regularly designing and creating garments. In 2007, he graduated from Glasgow High School in Delaware. Shortly after he began his career in fashion.

Career

In 2005, Smith applied to the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

, as well as

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

, but was not accepted. Smith then began interning at the New York magazine ''

BlackBook ''BlackBook'' is an arts and culture magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase ...

'' in 2007, working for celebrity fashion stylist Elizabeth Sulcer.LEAH CHERNIKOF, February 12, 2010, New York Daily News
Fashion designer LaQuan Smith, from Queens, is 21-year-old Fashion Week virgin
Retrieved Aug. 28, 2014, "Smith ... got his foot in the door scoring an internship with BlackBook magazine, working for fashion editor Elizabeth Sulcer..." He would attend events by pretending to be a ''BlackBook'' editor. In 2008, he created his self-titled designer brand. In February 2010, he made his

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

debut at the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

headquarters in

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

. The audience for Smith's 'Water Goddess' show included fashion press, buyers, and celebrities. Specifically, the ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

editor-at-large An editor-at-large is a journalist who contributes content to a publication. Sometimes such an editor is called a roving reporter or roving editor. Unlike an editor who works on a publication from day to day and is hands-on, an editor-at-large con ...

Andre Leon Talley, ''Vogue'' style director Alexandra Kotur, Janice Combs,

Misa Hylton Misa Hylton (previously known as Misa Hylton-Brim) is an American stylist and fashion designer. Known as a pioneer in the fashion industry, she has styled many hip-hop and R&B artists since the 1990s, most notably Lil' Kim and Mary J. Blige. Hylt ...

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

, and lawyer L. Londell McMillan. He later presented a Spring-Summer Collection in September 2010. Smith's collection for the 2011 New York Fashion Week was showcased in the Gramercy Ballroom at the Peninsula Hotel. The collection, titled 'A Story Book Path', was inspired by

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

Cruella De Vil Cruella de Vil is a fictional character in British author Dodie Smith's 1956 novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians''. A pampered and glamorous London heiress and fashion designer, she appears in Walt Disney Productions' 17th animated feature fi ...

, and

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. Notable guests included Andre Leon Talley,

Diane von Furstenberg Diane may refer to: People *Diane (given name) Film * ''Diane'' (1929 film), a German silent film * ''Diane'' (1956 film), a historical drama film starring Lana Turner * ''Diane'' (2017 film), a mystery film directed by Michael Mongillo * ''D ...

, George Malkemus,

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. She is perhaps b ...

Lorenzo Martone Lorenzo Martone (born May 1979) is an entrepreneur in the fashion industry. Martone was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and resides in New York City where he manages multiple businesses and entrepreneurial projects. Martone founded the Martone Agency ...

Marcus Samuelsson 25 January 1971) is an Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality. He is the head chef of Red Rooster in Harlem, New York. Early life and education Kassahun Joar Tsegie was born in Ethiopia. His fat ...

, and L. Londell McMillan. Models walking in the show included

Cassie Ventura Casandra Elizabeth Ventura (born August 26, 1986), known professionally as Cassie, is an American singer, songwriter, model, actress and dancer. Born in New London, Connecticut, she began her career as a result of meeting record producer Ryan Le ...

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

Jaslene Gonzalez Jaslene González (born May 29, 1986) is an American model, television host, and winner of Cycle 8 of ''America's Next Top Model''. Biography Gonzalez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Humboldt Park, Chicago. She attended Notre Dame High S ...

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

, and

Christina Milian Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 19. ...

. For the February 2022

, Smith paid tribute to his mentor, Andre Leon Talley, by showcasing a glamour-styled event. The show featured

Julia Fox Julia Fox (born February 2, 1990) is an Italian-American actress and model. As an actress, she is known for her debut performance in the 2019 film ''Uncut Gems'', for which she was nominated for the Breakthrough Actor Award at the 2019 Gotham ...

and exhibited models wearing high-heels, red sequined dresses, faux fur corsets, cut-out frocks, gold leggings, miniskirts, and

Lurex Lurex is the registered brand name of the Lurex Company, Ltd. for a type of yarn with a metallic appearance. The yarn is made from synthetic film, onto which a metallic aluminium, silver, or gold layer has been vaporized. "Lurex" may also refer to ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Laquan Living people 1988 births African-American fashion designers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people