LaQuan Smith Doubles Down on Bringing Sexy Back

LaQuan Smith is not one to shy away from a statement. Case in point: The New York-based womenswear designer’s last show in September took over the Empire State Building for the spectacle of the season. His latest location was a bit more subdued, but oozed with opulence nonetheless: the Down Town Association, aka one the city’s oldest—and therefore most exclusive—private clubs.

Not to be outdone by himself, Smith called on It girl of the moment Julia Fox to open the show. Fox stormed the runway in a long-sleeved black turtleneck dress with sensual chest and ab cutouts that hugged her now-infamous curves just so. The collection continued with pieces one could imagine Fox stomping around downtown in (think: barely-there low-rise mini skirts, black stretch bodysuits with ultra low hip-grazing pants, metallic lycra catsuits, red fur overcoats, and electric blue sequin mini dresses that just pass one’s behind.

A lover of unbridled glamour, Smith raised the stakes even higher this go-around as the New York nightlife scene continues to recuperate from the pandemic. Women are finally dressing up and flashing some skin after two years of taking meetings in sweats from the comfort of their living rooms, and stepping out means slightly more than it did B.C. (before COVID). Smith heeded the call with fitted tailoring and coats in neutral wools, accompanied by slinky knit dresses and cropped shearling jackets with matching minis. Model and Euphoria star Chloe Cherry sauntered down the runway in a lavender floor-length cable-knit cardigan with an excessively large mink collar, paired with matching knit brief and a skimpy black bra.

Smith’s comfort zone is in corsetry and emphasizing the female form, and we’re happy to see that he took new risks by interpreting silhouettes with unusual textiles, notably in a jumpsuit that melds a sleek black legging with a perfectly realized brown patent leather jacket and an exaggerated collar made for a night out. No matter the look, there are pops of skin emerging from cutouts at the waist, hip, décolletage, even stomach, something Smith has been perfecting in the past and finding the most success here with a gold lamé dress, knotted several times over to reveal the wearer’s torso.

Styling by Interview creative director Mel Ottenberg brought the collection to life with oversized chunky silver bangles, hoops, and pendants, completing the fantasy of a woman ready to stop traffic with something shiny. The two finale looks brought back the firehouse red used earlier in the collection, this time via a stunning tulle bolero jacket and a sheer trumpet gown that speaks to exactly the kind of woman who will buy this collection, rife with elegant and body-conscious couture that takes no prisoners and isn’t bothered by the occasional flash of a nipple or panty line, but encourages it. Because why leave anything to the imagination when all we’ve been doing is imagining that ineffable feeling of stepping out into the world again?

See all the looks from LaQuan Smith’s fall/winter 2022 collection, below.