Willi Smith
Willi Smith | |
---|---|
Born | Willi Donnell Smith February 29, 1948 Parsons The New School for Design |
Occupation | Fashion designer |
Label | WilliWear Limited |
Relatives | Toukie Smith (sister) Robert De Niro (former brother-in-law) |
Willi Donnell Smith (February 29, 1948 – April 17, 1987) was an American
Early years
Smith was born in
Education
Smith studied commercial art at
Career
In 1967, Smith left Parsons and pursued a career designing on his own. He first sought design inspiration from what people wore on the streets of New York. He befriended model Bethann Hardison in 1967 after striking up a conversation about her style on the street. Hardison became the fit model for Smith's designs and a close friend.[8]
From 1969 to 1973, Smith worked as lead designer for the junior sportswear label Digits. Smith met future business partner and lifelong friend
Smith continued to design and, in 1976, traveled to Bombay (Mumbai) India with Mallet to produce a small collection of women's separates in natural fibers.[10] The collection was a success, and soon after, Smith and Mallet formed the label WilliWear Ltd., with Mallet as President of the company and Willi Smith as Vice President and lead designer. The first Williwear fashion show was held at the Holly Solomon Gallery in the Spring of 1978 and showcased a collection of garments “influenced by nautical uniforms and Southeast Asian dress.”[9] Subsequent WilliWear fashion shows were held in unconventional locations such as Alvin Ailey Studio and the Puck Building.[citation needed]
WilliWear was a massive success, providing chic, stylish clothing for the modern woman, and later men, at affordable prices and in natural fabrics. In 1982, Smith produced the first WilliWear men's collection with Stuart Lazar as Executive Vice President of menswear.[9] Smith also hired Mark Bozek as head of communications for WilliWear that same year. After receiving his fifth Coty Award nomination, Willi Smith won the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award in 1983.[11]
WilliWear produced several hallmark collections from 1982 to 1986, and in 1986 the company reached $25 million in sales. Smith and Mallet further enriched the reputation of the brand through artist collaborations. After Smith's death, on April 17, 1987, Mallet continued to run WilliWear. In 1989, Mallet hired designer Andre Walker to revive the brand.[12] Following a poorly received Fall 1990 collection and loss of sales at the Fifth Avenue store, Williwear filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ceased production in 1990.[13][14][15]
Collaborations
Willi Smith was an avid patron of the arts and collaborated with an extensive group of artists from 1973 up until his death in 1987. He designed costumes for choreographer Dianne McIntyre’s productions The Lost Sun (1973), The Deep South Suite (1976), and Take-Off From a Forced Landing (1984).[16] Smith also designed costumes for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company’s performance Secret Pastures (1984),[17] as well as for Ellen Stewart's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's production Cotton-Club Gala (1985).[16]
Smith and Mallet also collaborated with twenty-one contemporary artists in 1984 to design T-shirts with silk-screened artwork. These T-shirts displayed original work by artists including Keith Haring, Christo, SITE, Suzan Pitt, Les Levine, Edwin Schlossberg, Kim Steele, Jose Gracia Severo, Barbara Kruger, Lynn Hershman, Jenny Holzer, Tod Siler, Dan Friedman, and Andrew "Zephyr" Witten. The shirts were a part of the WilliWear Productions’ collection and video presentation Made in New York (1984).[18][19] Made in New York, directed by Les Levine, was the first short film project that WilliWear commissioned to present Smith's clothes in motion on the street and to combine the disciplines of art, fashion, and film in one form. In 1985, Smith also worked with Max Vadukul to direct the short film Expedition, which was shot in Senegal and showcased ensembles inspired by Senegalese street fashion.[20] Expedition debuted in New York at the Ziegfeld theater.[citation needed]
Smith showcased his designs through film in Made in New York (1984) and Expedition (1985), as well as for film in Spike Lee’s School Daze (1987), creating the homecoming court costumes.[9] Elements of film were also included in the presentation of the Fall 1983 WilliWear collection "Street Couture", held at the Puck Building, and incorporated video art by Juan Downey, music by Jorge Socarras, and makeup by Linda Mason.[20] The presentation of the Spring 1983 WilliWear collection "City Island", featured video art, which was created by artist Nam June Paik.[20] Other significant WilliWear collections include the Fall 1984 collection "SUB-Urban", Spring 1985 collection "Sightseeing", the 1984 collection for WilliWear Productions’ Made in New York, and the 1985 collection for Expedition.[9] From 1982 to 1987, WilliWear showrooms and boutiques in New York City and London were designed by the conceptual design and architecture studio SITE, led by partners Alison Sky and James Wines. For the WilliWear showroom on 209 W 38th Street in New York City, SITE partnered with Smith and Mallet to design a monochrome streetscape with a sidewalk doubling as a runway and chain-link fencing serving as display racks.[21]
Additionally, Smith designed the suits for
Death
On April 16, 1987, Smith was admitted to
Smith, who was
Legacy
Willi Smith was one of the first American designers to create clothing inspired by and for everyday people and what they wore on city streets – making his sportswear a bridge to commercial streetwear.[8] Smith also sourced natural fabrics from India for WilliWear collections. The designer blurred the lines of gendered fashion in American sportswear with garments created for both his WilliWear Men's and Women's collections.[9] Smith also played a key role in the democratization of fashion by keeping WilliWear at an affordable price-point, as well as by partnering with pattern companies Butterick and McCall's to produce home sewing patterns of his collections.[31] He sought not to target an exclusive clientele with his work, but instead to ensure that his clothing could be worn by people from varied backgrounds. Smith's label WilliWear set the stage for later streetwear brands such as FUBU and WalkerWear.[32] Smith's gender-neutral collections for WilliWear can be seen as precursors for contemporary gender-neutral brands such as One DNA and the Phluid Project. Smith's influence can also be seen in brands such as Supreme, Off-White, Telfar, Vaquera, Eckhaus Latta and Pyer Moss.[citation needed]
Additionally, many young designers and artists worked at WilliWear before launching their own successful careers and labels, including
Exhibitions
In 1981, Willi Smith participated in the Black Fashion Museum’s Bridal Gowns of Black Designers exhibition. He designed a two-piece wedding ensemble consisting of “a rajah style jacket in cotton satin and velveteen jodhpurs,”[35] which was prominently displayed during the show. The following year, Smith participated in the Project Space One (MoMA PS1) exhibition Art As Damaged Goods.[36] Smith and Mallet also collaborated with local art galleries, which hosted early WilliWear and WilliWear Productions fashion shows. The line of artist T-shirts for WilliWear Productions was first exhibited at the Ronald Feldman Gallery, then during the Artventure fundraiser hosted at AREA by the Public Art Fund in 1984.[9]
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum hosted the first retrospective exhibition on Willi Smith from March 13, 2020. The show was scheduled to end on October 25, 2020. The exhibition was curated by Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Curator of Contemporary Design, and Hintz Secretarial Scholar at Cooper Hewitt with Curatorial Assistants Julie Pastor and Darnell Jamal Lisby.[37] The collaborative and accessible nature of Willi Smith's work was highlighted through the exhibition and will be incorporated to a greater extent through the Willi Smith Digital Community Archive, which the public can contribute to.[38] The archive serves as a resource for scholars and enthusiasts to gain greater insight and understanding into the life, work, and legacy of the visionary American designer. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the exhibit was closed at the end of its opening day.[3]
Awards
- Smith earned two scholarships to attend Parsons School of Design in 1965.[citation needed]
- In September 1983, Smith won an American Fashion Critics' Coty Award for women's fashion.[39] He was the second African American designer to win the award, the first being Stephen Burrows.[40]
- In 1985, Smith won a Cutty Sark Men's Fashion Award.[citation needed]
- In 1988, then New York City mayor David Dinkins proclaimed February 23 "Willi Smith Day" in honor of the designer's achievements.[41]
- In 2002, Smith was honored with a bronze plaque for Fashion Walk of Fame along Seventh Avenue.[40]
References
- ^ a b c d e James, George (April 19, 1987). "Willi Smith, Clothes Designer; Creator of Vivid Sportswear". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ Hochswender, Woody (June 5, 1990). "Patterns". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ a b Dorris, Jesse (July 11, 2020). "A Thriving Digital Space for Willi Smith, Streetwear Genius". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ Willi Smith Coty Award Biography. 1979. Folder 6. CFDA Lambert, 1944-1979. Gladys Marcus Library Special Collections & College Archives. Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY.
- ^ "Willi Smith". newschool.edu. July 24, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Rayner, Polly (October 21, 1984). "WilliWear Designer Creates 'Basic Clothes with a Sense of Humor'". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Deleon, Jian (February 28, 2013). "The 25 Greatest Black Fashion Designers". Complex.
but his lasting legacy was mentoring burgeoning African American talent, including Willi Smith
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ^ Shapiro, Harriet (November 14, 1983). "Willi Smith Snags a Coty with His Street-Smart Threads". people.com. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Chua, Lawrence (November 23, 1989). "Andre Walker: Trying To Put Spunk Back Into WilliWear". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 24WF. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ Hochswender, Woody (April 10, 1990). "Patterns". Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ Furman, Phyllis; Moss, Linda (May 20, 1990). "Los of Identity of Williwear". The Record. pp. L-5.
- ^ Campbell, Roy H. (June 25, 1990). "Chapter 11 Papers Filed by Williwear". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 4-E.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (November 17, 1984). "Dance: Jones and Zane Offer 'Secret Pastures'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Bozek, Mark (March 9, 1984). "Artist T-shirts" (Press release). New York: WilliWear Productions.
- ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ^ Slagle, Alton (July 19, 1986). "Caroline Wants Private Wedding, But Won't Get It". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Gross, Michael (June 2, 1987). "Spider-Man to Wed Model". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ^ a b Belcher, Jerry (April 20, 1987). "Pioneered 'Street Couture' : Fashion Designer Willi Smith Dies at 39". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c Smith, Marguerite T. (May 17, 1987). "Sustaining Williwear's Spirit". New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ a b "Fashion Designer Willi Smith Had AIDS, His Attorney Says". Los Angeles Times. April 24, 1987. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Buck, Genevieve (April 29, 1987). "Though The 'Real' Willi Is Gone, Williwear Plans To Forge Ahead". Chicago Tribune. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ISBN 0-465-00071-1
- ^ Knight, Christopher (October 4, 1992). "Art: Commentary: A Stitch in Time : The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt returns to Washington, its 21,000 panels casting a shadow that reaches the White House". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ISBN 9780857858313.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-38646-6.
- ^ Hawkins, Timothy (February 23, 1990). "Toukie Smith Puts New Angles on Style". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ISSN 0028-7369.
- ISBN 978-0-8478-6819-3.
- ^ "Fashion (Winter 1982): Willi Smith: Art as Damaged Goods". moma.org. January 17, 1982. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "Cooper Hewitt to Present "Willi Smith: Street Couture"". cooperhewitt.org. July 24, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "Willi Smith Digital Community Archive". cooperhewitt.org. December 3, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Duka, John (September 30, 1983). "Coty Winners: Smith and Flusser". New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-609-01969-3.
- ^ "CFDA". cfda.com. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
External links
- Willi Smith bio Archived October 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine