Author:Maria BobilaPublish date:Sep 11, 2018In our long-running series "How I'm Making It," we talk to people making a living in the fashion and beauty industries about how they broke in and found success.
At 21 years old, an age when fashion students are usually preparing to put on a graduation show or thinking about post-grad work, Smith made his New York Fashion Week debut. In 2013, he officially launched his namesake label, creating an aesthetic that embraces the female figure. Over the past five years, he's grown a steady clientele of high-profile celebrities, including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and the Kardashian-Jenner crew.
Ahead of Smith's Spring 2019 runway show, which debuted on Sunday night, we caught up with him over the phone to learn about how he's grown as a designer, the challenges he faced when launching his label and why he thinks his brand has yet to have its big break.It was more intuition for me. My grandmother taught me how to sew and I was always illustrating and it sort of happened organically. I have a very well-dressed family. My mother is really into fashion and style.
One of the things that I learned as a young designer is that it's not just about talent. There are so many incredible, talented people out in the world, but without the business aspect of it, you're sort of spinning your wheels in a way. For me, it was about: How do I strategize? How do I build a business with the things that I'm doing? The struggle has been self-financing and obviously building core relationships with retailers, editors and things like that.
It's really nice and I like the fact that it's Long Island City because it's close to Manhattan but I'm not in Manhattan. Manhattan can sometimes be a little bit crazy and stressful. I like that I'm in my own little bubble because I think it helps me create better.My experiences have helped me evolve. The women that I've dressed have helped me become a better designer. My eye and my skill — even my taste level — are just better.