Smith, Willi
1948-1987 · Contribution: 1976-1987
Fashion Designer
Founded WilliWear (1976); a pioneer of "street couture"/streetwear and, at his death in 1987, considered the most commercially successful Black American fashion designer of the 20th century
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1948
- Active since
- 1976
- Category
- Arts, Music & Entertainment Tech
- Best known for
- Founded WilliWearPioneered "street couture"Womenswear + menswear under one brand
Impact on the world
Smith democratized fashion, designing for "the people who wave at the queen" rather than the elite, and inventing the collaborative, street-rooted model the industry now runs on. He built the template for streetwear.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Source lookupFind
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (Willi Smith: Street Couture)
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Related visionaries
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Day, Daniel R. (Dapper Dan)
1944-
Pioneered the fusion of luxury fashion logos with hip-hop streetwear from his Harlem boutique; first Black designer awarded the CFDA's Lifetime Achievement Award
Kelly, Patrick
1954-1990
First American designer admitted to the Chambre Syndicale du Pret-a-Porter, the official body governing French ready-to-wear fashion
Smith, LaQuan
1988-
Built an internationally recognized womenswear brand after being rejected by both major fashion schools he applied to