LaQuan Smith Is in An Empire State of Mind

His stockist list is growing, too, with 15 new retail accounts this year. Now customers can buy those bodysuits, patent pencil skirts and corset tops at Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. And he has a Puma collaboration coming early next year. “I’ve always wanted to do sexy athleisure,” he smiled, relaxing into the couch of the Empire State Building’s green room.

His work will also be exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” exhibition. “I’m not quite emerging, but I haven’t hit the surface yet. It’s popcorn in the microwave,” he said, acknowledging he’s at a pivotal point, still small and independent with just 15 employees, and producing all his clothing in New York City, which is a point of pride. “I need better marketing and advertising. We could do better at e-commerce. And from a larger perspective, I’m looking for financial partners.

“I was living in New York making these 3D leggings and they kept calling me the ‘leggings boy.’ I would make 15 pairs a night, and wear them out myself. I’d go to Bryant Park during fashion week, crashing shows, and people would take a photo with me and say, ‘Can I feel your legs? Are they spiky’?’ If I saw a woman who inspired me, I’d chase her down and give her a pair packaged with my business card. This was during the blogging era, and girls were popping up in these leggings.

“That led to custom work and celebrity work. That’s really how I built my business, from a celebrity perspective,” said the designer, nodding to another cornerstone of American fashion: Hollywood.in 2010; by 2014, Serena Williams was closing his water-goddess-themed salon-style show at the Peninsula Hotel, and Diane Von Furstenberg, Sandra Bernhard and Common were among the guests, all thanks to André Leon Talley, a supporter from the start.

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