LaQuan Smith is aware of how one can throw a celebration; there isn’t any doubt about that. If you issue within the Rainbow Room’s mirrored partitions and stylish Artwork Deco inside, you’ve got obtained one hell of a soirée — and this stage of sophistication is clear within the designer’s Fall/Winter 2023 assortment, too.
The present began with a efficiency by a mannequin a reimagined scene from the favored Eighties cleaning soap opera Dynasty. It was a compelling vignette, displaying a girl coming into her personal with a brand new sense of energy, serving as a metaphor for the LaQuan Smith lady. She’s nonetheless attractive, however she’s grown. One of the best half? She is aware of who she is.
Fashions, with their hair swept again and stiletto heels, walked down the steps and across the iconic venue in a wide range of bespoke items made for immediately. Structured tuxedo jackets, low-slung (however polished) pants, mini blazer clothes, and — imagine it or not — briefcases discovered their means throughout the ground, making a robust case for on a regular basis put on. These had been accompanied by loads of body-hugging and skin-bare staples comparable to bodysuits and two-piece units, making certain that Smith’s signature intercourse enchantment was nonetheless very a lot current within the assortment. And with a principally impartial shade palette (the one colours on show had been vibrant violet and sky blue), it additionally felt like a stark distinction to his Spring 2023 present, which solely bolstered that each he and his viewers had been on a stage go up.
The designer additionally took the chance to introduce menswear, with the standout look that includes an all-black ensemble with black fits, a sheer shirt and a thin scarf. These appears had a really rock ‘n’ roll really feel and had been clearly impressed by none apart from Lenny Kravitz, who lately wore a customized LaQuan Smith outfit on the CFDA Awards in November.
Maybe it was the cocktails and caviar that kicked off the night – and the gang, which included Teyana Taylor, Lil Nas X, Kimora Lee Simmons and, after all, Julia Fox– off on a excessive word, however there was a particular vitality that pulsed by the room (for instance, I left the present with my coronary heart pounding). It might have been Smith’s voice over the music saying, “That is LaQuan Smith.” Both means, one cannot deny it: LaQuan Smith does right here.
Dale Arden Chong is the Senior Vogue Commerce Editor at ELLE.com. Beforehand, she was an editor at MensHealth.com and has written for Who What Put on, GLAMOUR, The Coveteur, and extra. She loves trend, meals and artwork amongst others, however her largest love is Okay-pop idol V from BTS.
