LaQuan Smith for AFW

LaQuan Smith, the New York designer described earlier in the year by New York Times writer Ruth La Ferla as an industry “Outsider on the Doorstep” is due to show a collection at Africa Fashion Week at Sadton’s Convention Centre on the 1st of July.

Turned away by a number of fashion schools, LaQuan has made leaps out of obscurity to become a celebrity fashion favourite (Rihanna and Lady Gaga amongst others) and does his thing without the backing of major finance or machinery. He drafts his own patterns and cuts the fabric himself. He has no studio, or at least didn’t at the time of his interview with the New York Times.
I am super-excited about LaQuan’s Africa Fashion Week appearance and can’t wait to see why Rihanna and Lady Gaga think this man is the future. And he’s only 21! Wow.